31/12/2017
Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest! I haven't had a chance to do the review replies yet. Sorry. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas! And is looking forward to new year.
Part 3 The Trigger
Chapter 37: The Writing Was On The Wall
-cfr-
Year 47,023 CE - 44,796 years after Human Ascension (3,154 years after the capture of the Warrior Prophet)
Darmaris Homeworld, Pedor, Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister Pafiq resisted the urge to rub at his skull. His head hurt. It was meant to be psychologically impossible for his brain to hurt, but it did at the moment. "So what you are telling me is that these ships," he gestured to the view screen, "are those enemies the Warrior Prophet predicted would come?"
"Yes!" The High Priest of the Cult of the Warrior Prophet replied. While he was definitely a fanatic, he was adept at politics and knew to keep his answers simple for the moment. The time to dictate policy would be soon - once the Darmaris leadership had no one else to turn to. Besides, his religion had been warning the galaxy that this day would come for centuries and after a lifetime of being shrugged off, he had just been vindicated.
"And what would you have me do?"
"We must fight! As the Prophet and the Holy Asari beacons instruct us too," High Priest Wassim said.
"With what?" Pafiq demanded. The High Priest knew the state of the Darmaris military as well as he did. Probably better, Pafiq considered, given how many spies he knew riddled the bureaucracy. Their ships looked impressive but their functional weaponry hadn't seen a major upgrade for the last decade. They had fallen behind the Cypiene but had maintained a careful bluff, one this outside party would now reveal.
Pafiq was surprised when Wassim's expression became calculating. "Our current ships will only buy us time," the Priest said, eerily echoing Pafiq's thoughts. "My forces will help with that but we are the custodians of plans," he said slowly and it was obvious to the Prime Minister that the Priest was considering how much to say.
"Plans?" What the hell were these plans? Why had he never heard of them?
"They are the most guarded secret of the Order. A gift from the Warrior Prophet, entrusted to us the day before the Assassination."
"What are they?" The Assassination was over three thousand years back. Surely, in that amount of time, the Cult would have let them slip.
"They are the designs for ships," Wassim said as he eyes took on a faraway look. "The Beacons left by the Blessed Asari warned us what was coming but they could give us no ability to fight. The Lady Liara urged us to work with the other races and history tells us that we tried but it was not to be. Then the Prophet was discovered and he told us the same thing.
"We were working towards unity then, but someone betrayed us at the Assassination. To this day, we do not know who but the Warrior Prophet was working to prepare the galaxy. Unlike the warnings from the Lady Liara, he brought weapons, a real means of fighting but the oldest records of the Order are clear, he always called us Primitive."
"Primitive?" Pafiq was insulted! How dare some long dead alien call them Primitive! If the Prophet's race was so advanced, where were they now?
"From the Prophet's point of view we were… we are," Wassim said. "We have had these plans for over three thousand years. Some of my predecessors preferred to pretend the plans didn't exist, arguing that we should not rely on technology that has already failed. Others wanted to build the designs but were unable. As much as it pains me to admit, there are aspects of those plans we are only now coming to understand. The Warrior Prophet was truly a Prophet in more ways than one. It's only recently that we've been able to actually build them."
Pafiq resisted the urge to shiver. He had a vision of Cult ships forcibly 'preparing' the galaxy as they had been preaching forever!
"Only a prototype," Wassim admitted. "It has just completed weapons testing."
The Prime Minister wondered if Wassim understood the irony in his statement. As a young Darmaris, Pafiq had been interested in the Warrior Prophet and the Beacons and everything they represented. They were a window into the past, a look at aliens who had walked the stars before the Darmaris even looked upwards. It was fascinating and most Darmaris went through a period where they studied nothing but that time period. Some became obsessed, leading to the Cult's continued existence, but most moved on. They had to live in the galaxy as it was now. As a part of his youthful interest, he had examined the events leading up to the Assassination. In the three thousand years since, the leaders of the superpowers had never attended the same conference. They all remembered the past.
But the conference had been called by the demonstration of a new vessel, one that supposedly used the tech of the Warrior Prophet. And now, the Cult had made a new prototype and a new enemy had appeared. Irony only began to cover it.
"And how long before a fully functional capital ship is made?"
"We had estimated five to seven years, but with the appropriate backing we can probably make it in six months."
Six months! It was an eternity.
"There are over thirty five thousand enemy ships in the galaxy! Ships that I admit completely match the drawings the Warrior Prophet gave us! Given the ease with which they took the station, in six months there won't be a Darmaris Nation!"
"It takes time to lay the steel!" Wessim replied.
"With the backing of the Darmaris Nation, I'm sure we can get it down to two," Pafiq said.
The High Priest jerked back. That was not the answer he had expected. "An untried ship?"
"Your prototype worked? Or are you not telling me everything?" Pafiq narrowed his eyes to make sure the High Priest understood the consequences of lying to him.
"The Prototype worked," Wassim was quick to reassure him, "but it is untried tech!"
"It is the only thing we have!" Pafiq retorted. "The only problem is how we manage to get the plans out to the others without making it seem like we were sitting on them for centuries! Which you have been!"
"Prime Minister!"
"No! You listen!" Pafiq rose, slamming his hands into his desk. "You tell me now that you have had plans for a weapon we could have used, and you've had that weapon for decades! You owed it to the Darmaris Nation to come forward with these plans!
"And now we have the enemy that was promised and we are in no position to fight without making alliances…" Pafiq trailed off as he thought. If the enemy was as dangerous as the Warrior Prophet and the beacons said then they would need to make alliances. He could use this. If they played it right, he could make it seem like they had been deliberately holding back, trying to bring peace to the galaxy by attempting something beyond the continuous military build-up.
The Yoxall would be the best to approach. As the first into space, they had lived with the message from the beacons the longest. The rest of the species in the galaxy would be more likely to listen if the message came from the Yoxall. Of all super powers, they had never directly attacked another. They maintained and defended their territory fiercely but they only attacked if the benefit far outweighed the cost. They were the cunning elder statesmen of the galaxy.
"We'll contact the Yoxall," Pafiq said. "No single galactic power is equipped to fight this and while it sickens me to think that we might have to work with the Cypiene, if that's what it takes to survive, then that is what we will do. Heh, perhaps we'll be able to liberate some tech."
Wassim nodded, being tactful enough not to mention that for security other parts of the Order knew of the existence of the plans. It was a long-standing tradition. The Darmaris chapters kept the plans, but the Chief Priest or Priestess in each of the major nations knew of their existence and they never gathered together in person as a group. He had planned to give the Cypiene chapter access to the plans in exchange for the technical drawings of their latest capital ship but with the validation of everything they had proclaimed for centuries, that would no longer be necessary The Cypiene would hesitate but the needs of the galaxy would ensure that for the battle to come, only the most advanced ships would be built.
The wished-for harmony that the Lady Liara and the Warrior Prophet had advocated would come and Wassim had every reason to believe it would be enough. The situation was dire but they had everything they needed to survive already. It just required the will to use it.
-cfr-
Sol System, Human Ascended Fleet
The entire fleet of Human Ascended was gathered within the orbit of Mercury. Even the wounded were here to bear witness. Thirty-four forms were held in mass effect fields and while Shepard wanted to be holding Legacy, he was instead holding Harper. Elysium was going around the fleet saying one last good bye to those she had raised. While the deaths of the youngest Ascended was hard on the entire fleet, beneath the grief, Shepard could feel a simmer of rage. Even those who had felt nothing in the last cycle were angry now.
"Cerberus, wake up," Shepard called over a private channel, shielding it so that none of the fleet could hear. With a twist to his internals, the others in his consciousness could not hear either. No one could afford to know this information. If Shepard was honest with himself, he couldn't afford to know this information but he had calculated the chances that he would be asked a compromising question by Harbinger or the Catalyst and they were tiny. For Legacy and Instinct, he would take this chance.
There was no change in Cerberus's physical form to indicate that his consciousness was once more in control of his form. "Don't move, don't start your senses or running lights, don't do anything," Shepard commanded.
"You are about to be released into a decaying orbit into the sun, with the others who died. Use them for material to repair yourself," Shepard instructed, deliberately pushing away the sick feeling that accompanied the instruction. This was about as close to cannibalisation as an Ascended could get but Cerberus would need the materials and, in some way, using them would mean that they were forever remembered.
There was a pulse of understanding from Harper but that was his only response.
He chose his next words with care. This was the core of the matter and he couldn't speak directly about it to anyone. The conditioning saw to that. He spoke next as if just talking aloud to hear his own thoughts, burying his awareness for the moment that Harper was still listening.
"The Catalyst cannot be trusted with ascension. It is the direct cause of the deaths of three billion, one hundred and thirty five million Humans by its failure to provide vital information whether through incompetence or malice. Taking only the youngest compounded its crime, taking from us the innocents who should have had a chance to live and grow before coming face to face with the reality of the cycle. It is not serving ascension and all things must serve ascension. There is no place for a senile AI to direct those who are beyond its understanding."
"Cerberus." Shepard 'returned' to speaking to the other Human Ascended. "You know the problems. Fix them. Do not report in until you are finished. If I get a chance to call you for an update, you will answer. Do not call anyone. I will call you when it is safe for me to do so."
There was another pulse of understanding from Cerberus. It felt like Harper. Shepard would have liked it to include his acknowledgement of the contradiction inherent in ascension but his words were already far beyond what they were allowed. He would have to trust that Harper was capable of working his way around the controls in all Ascended. The man had been adept enough at it when he was organic.
Shepard turned his attention back to the fleet. Elysium was ready now, though still sorrowful. There was no need for words. What could they say? These were some of the youngest, those who should have had eternity before them to learn and grow in ascension and that eternity had been cut short. He didn't finish the thought. Even if they couldn't think it, deep down, the Human fleet knew.
With one last touch, Legacy was released, the mass effect fields that had been holding the form steady pushed to set the youngest Human Ascended free. Instinct was released next and Shepard watched them drift against the sun behind them. "I will avenge you," he said softly. The organics would pay for cutting short the lives of Human children.
One after the other, the dead Ascended were released until the final one was pushed into the line. The rest of the fleet watched for a few minutes before turning away. It would take months for them to reach the sun, to return to the elements which had created them so it was pointless to wait.
Now was the time for vengeance.
Shepard spent one further minute watching before he turned away. Unknown to the rest of the Human Ascended, he was confirming his calculations. Cerberus would have enough time to repair and escape and, with that assured, he turned away, focusing his senses on Earth as he moved with the rest of the fleet towards their home world. It was slightly amusing the way the fleet turned there, as if drawn by a lodestone.
Earth was recovering. There was evidence of the impact winter but it was long over. In terms of impact events, the Earth had seen far worse. True, the space farms were large, and composed of metal but they had not been dense. Still it had been large enough to wipe out some species. There were no elephants. Most of the large cats were gone and only the smallest whales had survived.
Of course, that was focusing on the poster species first. The smaller mammals were doing fine and there had been an explosion in the types and variety of insects. Reptiles were beginning to come back although the more scientifically minded of the Human Ascended stated that it would take some time before they reached the same variety as before.
Human cities, which had already been surrendering to the regrowth of vegetation when the last Humans were processed for ascension were almost completely gone. There was a slight discolouration in some places if you knew what to look for where the cities had been. The Great Wall of China was completely gone. It hadn't been left in a good state before ascension so it wasn't surprising that it had not survived. Mount Rushmore was deformed but obviously sculpted. A section had given way. Acid rain had dissolved the pyramids. There was evidence of Human habitation but not a lot.
More important to Shepard was the fact that there was no alien evidence. He didn't expect it. The Relay had been closed but there was always travel the old fashioned way and the way he was feeling right now, any alien on Earth would have lived to regret it.
Currently, there was some debate as to if they should re-introduce some species. There were several which would survive on Earth now but they may throw the existing ecosystems into chaos. Shepard let the argument wash over him. He could tell it was a distraction. Those arguing were using it to keep the rage at bay. Once they left Sol, it would merely be a discussion they had used to while away the time. He should be using the time now to plan how to defeat the enemy but Shepard wasn't yet ready to think logically about what was to come.
"It is always a tragedy when children die," Annie murmured to him. Her voice was oddly pained and Shepard turned his focus towards her. He didn't need to prompt for her to continue. "They died protecting the rest of us," she added.
"They were meant to be protected," Shepard replied.
"You cannot shield children from everything," she said. "This is hard, I know. It is painful. The years they should have had were stolen."
"You have experience?" he asked. The pain in Annie's voice was not just from the death of Legacy and Instinct. It spoke of experience.
"My son died," she said.
Shepard wasn't sorry he asked but understood now why she exuded an understanding of the current situation that went beyond most of the Ascended. For most, it was an abstract pain they felt. Societal norms dictated that children should be protected and, despite ascension, they were Human enough to still have that and that was contributing to the fleet's anger. Some though felt the pain more deeply. Elysium was one, but she had been present at the awakening of every Ascended. She had named the youngest and had taught them. It was not her fault but she carried guilt now for not teaching them enough about combat, for not being with them in the first wave through. But there were other individuals like Annie who understood the pain from personal experience. Annie was Ascended, her son should have been Ascended as well. Yet, she said he died.
"He died confirming something we had hoped was true, but now we know is true. Some would say the information he died obtaining is useless." She paused and Shepard could almost see the soft smile on her face. "If everything goes the way Harbinger wants, then perhaps it will be pointless but I have faith."
"Faith?" Shepard asked. Faith was not something the Ascended needed.
"I have faith in Humanity," Annie replied. "Faith that somehow, something will go wrong and we will need the information Francis died to obtain."
Shepard thought and reached a conclusion he did not like. Annie's son had died to obtain information, which meant it was not some childhood accident that killed him. He had been a man grown, one who should have been Ascended. But there was the problem. Shepard knew of no information that should have cost a life to obtain, beyond accident. Except the way Annie spoke made it clear that Francis did not die in an accident.
"What information?" He asked.
Annie didn't possess eyes but she looked at him just so and he was reminded that there were a few things about Earth that he had deliberately avoided learning. What he didn't know he couldn't tell Harbinger. Shepard mentally took a deep breath. "I believe it is safe enough for me to learn those things now," he said. With the secret he was now carrying, they were the lesser sin.
He felt everyone in his core just look at him. He was the lead consciousness and they had to obey but as Harbinger was learning there was obedience and obedience, Shepard knew they were weighing up which it should be. After several rather long moments, they came to an agreement. Annie spoke for the consensus. "Yes, it should be safe enough now," she said finally.
"My son was involved in the project to confirm that Harbinger was not lying. Of course, it was never an official project but those in charge of the lotteries made sure they were overlooked. His group confirmed that Human minds actually survived the process of ascension."
"I spoke with Hackett and the Alliance after I was Ascended," Shepard said. "You know that," he added. She was within him! She could not not know that!
"I know that," Annie agreed, "but Humanity as a whole did not. For all they knew you were some cunning VI programmed to behave like your Human self. It doesn't matter," she dismissed any further objections before Shepard could make them. She had been there, within him. She knew exactly what had happened. "Confirmation came fast enough for most and preservation of the mind is immortality as far as most are concerned. But near the end, after Harbinger upped the production quota, there was a new thought.
"Ascended are created from organic beings," Annie explained and Shepard was silent as she spoke. "What no one knew was if our bodies were decomposed into their component elements or if there was still DNA mixed in with the goup that forms the core." She said the last with a snort of laughter and Shepard couldn't help but be amused by the way she phrased it. It really was gross when you thought about it.
"And what did he discover?" Shepard asked.
"In the year 2220, when Francis was fifty three, he discovered-"
"Wait!" Shepard interrupted. "In 2220, he was fifty-three? That's an impossibility!"
"Those in the know made sure his name was not in the lotteries and after that they kept the husks away but time was running out so he did the only thing he could. He went into an Ascended to take a sample. That's how we know, individual DNA is within every Ascended form."
Shepard was silent for a few moments. "He went into…" Shepard gasped as the implications became clear.
Annie didn't wait for him to continue. "So you see, the information is pointless and priceless. It all depends on the future but obtaining that information means I will never get to make up with my son. The immortality he should have had, the immortality he worked his entire life to confirm, was denied to him, just as it has been denied to Legacy and Instinct. Anyone would be upset about that but you have to remember that they died protecting the rest of us. The information they obtained allowed you to destroy the enemy-"
"They shouldn't ha-"
"It was not your fault," Annie overrode his objection. "You did not send them. You did not even nominate them to go but the reality is that they were sent and they did die. So we must take what comfort we can, while making sure those who are at fault understand the consequences of their actions." It was the way she said the last that let Shepard understand that Annie knew exactly who was responsible even if she could not say it.
Shepard considered her words for a few moments before he made another connection she hadn't said. He could wallow in grief and do nothing until it became time to move out to sweep the galaxy, or he could actually work towards ensuring that the races of this cycle truly understood what it was they had angered. He could be a child, or he could be the adult they needed him to be.
"Alright!" Shepard announced, cutting through the ongoing conversation about the potential problems re-introducing army ants might have on the ecology of the forming forests. "There will be no re-introduction of plants or animals at this point in time. It is unlikely that anyone would notice but it would be unfair to the current children of Earth," he explained, letting his sub-channel add further details that those species which had survived had earned their right to live. Those who hadn't, well, they were preserved in Ascended forms and would live again someday. Just not today.
"The closest shipyards belong to the Yoxall so we will pay them a visit," Shepard continued, not allowing argument to his decisions. It would be a relatively easy task to capture the shipyards for those who needed repairs and it would, not so incidentally, clear out Sol so that Harper could work without being detected. "Then we will rendezvous with Arshan, Fruben and the rest of the fleet and show the organics of this cycle what it means to kill a Human!"
Ascended did not cheer like organics, but there was a pulse of agreement to his words and Hackett pulled several attack plans to the top of the network. He had not stopped working and Shepard was thankful for the former Admiral's dedication.
"Are we going to go blind into the galaxy?" Shepard thought it was Nergal that asked.
"No!" He reassured the fleet. "Harbinger's slaves are about a day away. They will have better galaxy maps and information about the physiologies of the aliens. They may even have some samples."
There was a wicked laugh at that thought. The fleet had determined that it was Cypiene ships that had killed the Vanguard, triggering the cycle.
"It's one of the reasons we have to stop by Halven-Moffet. Get information and send oculi through to retrieve a certain Warrior Prophet. He could be useful." Shepard paused. There was no need to say how the Prothean could be useful just yet. The cycle would dictate what would happen to him. "Beyond that, I want the plans to every weapon this cycle has even thought about downloaded before we destroy their data centres. We need to know about them so we can counter them. Is that clear?"
Another wave of agreement followed.
"The main races of this cycle occupy five territories. The closest to the Citadel is the Wilms, though Sol is in Yoxall territory. We will sweep the galaxy in a clockwise direction. The galactic core and the Citadel are in disputed territory but mostly the territory along their borders is disputed.
"It doesn't matter now. We need to hit them hard and fast! If they have any sense, they will already be negotiating peace between their nations in an effort to fight. They can't win but they can drag out the cycle with unnecessary delays. And any delay will give them time to dig in like the Protheans." He didn't need to say that since the Protheans were still causing issues, that it was the last thing they wanted.
"I do not believe they are of the same strength as the Protheans," Shepard continued, "but their defence platforms are formidable but at the limits of their strength, which is another reason we cannot give them time.
"Now, take a last look at Earth because it's time for us to move. Our home world will be safe for another cycle." With that, he turned away, linking to Anderson, Hackett, Miranda and Udina to refine the plans Hackett had made while they travelled.
-cfr-
Yoxall Homeworld, Torkey, Emperor's Palace
"There's still no word?"
"There's been no change, your Majesty," Chancellor Tor said sadly. "We've tried everything, but the Relays aren't responding."
Emperor Zaratkiaran Zenshozenta VIII sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He had expected the answer but had hoped to be surprised. The last month had not been kind to him and he knew his people were looking at him to come up with an answer. Except every answer came with a corresponding list of insurmountable problems.
"Keep trying," Zaratkiaran ordered. "We need to re-establish communication with the Western quadrant."
"And the shipyards," Tor added.
"And the shipyards," the Emperor agreed, privately thinking that they would need more than the shipyards. "How are the Wilms faring?"
Chancellor Tor gulped. The Yoxall weren't the only ones to have lost territory. In the wake of the loss of the Unknown Space Station and the entire western quadrant of the Empire falling silent, the unknown ships had gone on to attack the Wilms, quickly moving through the territory. "They are not faring well," he replied. "It appears Ait Chonaithe has fallen."
"Their homeworld?" Zaratkiaran
"Yes, Sir."
"Even with the Darmaris' help?"
"It is doubtful that they reached Wilm's territory in time to make a difference," Chancellor Tor replied.
Zaratkiaran nodded to show that he heard. He was not surprised by the information. The Darmaris had requested permission to move their fleet through Yoxall territory but at the time they had been reeling with the loss of the Western Territory and the attack on the Unknown Space Station, so he had denied the request. He was not about to let foreign military ships anywhere near what remained of Yoxall territory. The Darmaris Prime Minister and Religious Leader had both given assurances. For them, the attack had been the validation of their belief in the Warrior Prophet. They were determined to fight but that didn't answer the question of what happened after they fought and, as Emperor, that was what he had to think about.
"How is the analysis of the Cypiene images?" That was the question he'd asked but what he really meant was if they'd found any weaknesses in the unknown ships.
"It is progressing, Your Majesty, but given the events occurring presently we can only conclude that the Cypiene were-" here Tor pulled a face and sighed. "Lucky to destroy the unknown ship."
"They lost seven out of nine capital ships with the other two barely making it back to their territory and they were lucky?"
"Yes, though they did prove that sufficient firepower can destroy the ships that is the only conclusion we are able to draw without further information."
"So how are we going with sufficient firepower?" Zaratkiaran asked. The initial calls for volunteers had been lacking but once the threat of the unknown ships became more known the military entry points were now swamped. Except with the loss of the western shipyards and production facilities, they had more crew than ships, even once they'd dragged every ship that could be vaguely deemed serviceable from storage.
"We have distributed the Darmaris plans and have commenced building several of the ships but it will be far more cost effective to retrofit our existing ships."
"And we are moving our experienced personal to those ships?"
"Yes, your Majesty." Chancellor Tor couldn't quite keep the note out of his voice that spoke of his surprise that the Darmaris, of all people, had volunteered ship specs to all. And they were superior ship specs, ones which, if the Darmaris had used them, they would potentially have altered the course of history. Except all information reported said that it was only recently that the Darmaris had been able to build those plans.
After the plans had been confirmed to work, Zaratkiaran had been convinced to allow the Darmaris to help, except by then sending any help thru Yoxall space was pointless. The Relays were closed and they responded to no signals. Even the few unopened Relays that they had found were unresponsive when before a normal set of signals would have reactivated them.
"Are we getting any refugees yet?" He'd had a dream last night. Somehow he was standing in space, but was hard up against the invisible wall that blocked them from the western empire. He couldn't move because he was held firm by thousands of refugees, all pressed against him. It was crushing and his struggles to breathe had woken him in a cold sweat.
"We haven't had any," Chancellor Tor replied, "though that is not surprising. I've not heard if the Gotti or Cypiene have had any but it's possible the Gotti blocked the ships.
Zaratkiaran nodded, not commenting about the decision the Gotti leadership had likely made. It was a hard choice but one he could not guarantee he would not have made. The Cypiene might have taken some Wilms refugees but the harsh reality was that most of the Wilms population would have been stuck. Just as more of the Yoxall population were stuck on their worlds. There were only so many ships after all.
There was a blip from the screen and Zaratkiaran turned to it. The signal said a new vid file was available. He tapped it and the main screen in his office changed.
"That's from one of the spy probes," Chancellor Tor said when he recognised the numbers in the top left of the screen. It showed a large group of Gotti capital ships facing off against one of the unknown ships.
"Does it have deep radar tech?"
"Yes. If I may, your majesty?" Tor asked, gesturing to the controls on the desk.
Zaratkiaran nodded his permission and shifted the controls towards the Chancellor. Tor tapped a few keys, activating different feeds and they both looked back at the screen when it zoomed in on the unknown ship.
"Damn," Tor whispered. "It is one of the elites."
The Emperor nodded but was transfixed by the vid. The unknown ship was slicing through the Gotti ships with ease. It was eight to one but that didn't seem to bother the huge ship. "Do we know which one it is?" When the Cypiene had pointed out that some of the unknown ships had what appeared to be markings if you looked at them with some frequencies, they had begun to identify the ships. Some even had nicknames now.
Tor froze a subsection of the screen and analysed the ship while the battle continued, if it could be called a battle. Four of the Gotti ships tried to take the unknown ship in a pincer movement but it simply raised its larger legs and fired simultaneously, taking out both sides at once.
"It's the Destroyer," Chancellor Tor said, confirming what the Emperor already suspected.
The ship then charged at the remaining Gotti ships, taking out another two before it reached the last and drove its front legs into the capital ship before pulling them apart, literally ripping the ship to pieces. "Is this on delay?"
"No," Tor whispered, looking at the screen again.
They both knew what that meant and Zaratkiaran shivered when two more of the unknown ships appeared. They had probably been summoned when the Destroyer recognised the ambush but the reinforcements had not been necessary.
"Our ships will do better," Tor said but Zaratkiaran could hear the quaver in his voice.
"They would," he agreed. "But we both know our ship specs can't stand up to the unknown ships."
"Our captains are better," Tor persisted.
"Better trained, certainly," Zaratkiaran allowed, but against that fire power, what did training matter? He asked silently.
"What are they doing?" Tor demanded, staring at the screen.
One of the huge ships had turned towards the probe and had launched a small ship. It was coming close, taking up the entire camera view.
"They've seen it?"
"It would appear that way," the Emperor agreed as he continued watching. He expected the feed to be cut off at any second when the small ship fired but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the small ship flew around the probe and then the angle changed slightly.
More of the unknown ships became visible and Zaratkiaran watched as they cleaned up the battlefield. There was an efficiency with their movement he had never seen and even the Destroyer joined in, doing the mundane task of sweeping up the Gotti debris.
"That's one of my best stealth probes!" Tor objected. It would have to be to have gotten into Gotti space, since such a journey required crossing at least one other nation.
"I think we are going to need a new definition of stealth," the Emperor said when one of the huge ships came close and the probe was engulfed in darkness. It was still projecting but there was nothing to see and he forced himself to look away from the screen. "Have someone monitor that feed," he instructed Tor, knowing that it was unnecessary. The Chancellor would assign someone to monitor the feeds from that probe continuously. It was the only probe they had close to the invading ships.
"Do we have any further information from the Cypiene?" Zaratkiaran asked suddenly, remembering the way the huge ship had moved.
Tor visibly gathered himself. "No," he said slowly, thinking about the information that he had seen recently.
"Apply pressure to them. They need to share the results of their studies with the rest of us," he instructed.
"I'll see to it that we have their findings," the Chancellor assured him.
"Remind them that this is not about Cypiene security but about the betterment and survival of the galaxy," he added before picking up the royal stylus. It was an ancient device but royal proclamations demanded that he use the old forms. "I've approved the Grand Admiral's requisition order, including those for the private providers, but is there anything else they need?" The Emperor steered the conversation towards more mundane things.
"At this time, I do not believe so, but as you asked earlier, Your Majesty, we are eventually going to have refugees to deal with."
Zaratkiaran's mouth twitched. So the Chancellor didn't believe the Cypiene could stop the unknown ships any more than he did. It remained to be seen if they could slow them down.
"And what do you suggest we do with the refugees?"
"They'll be coming over the borders in any ship they can," Tor mused. "We won't be able to do much about those entering illegally but perhaps we can ensure we get those who will be useful as well."
"Useful?"
"Cypiene scientists could provide us with information about their latest research and even Darmaris could be useful, so long as they agree to sign up for the military."
"Hmm, so we accept refugees, but only those we can use?" Zaratkiaran clarified.
"We will not have the resources to deal with anything else," the Chancellor said coldly.
Unfortunately, Zaratkiaran agreed and while it was a hard decision, he had to think of the Yoxall people first. "Some of the Darmaris may prove useful, especially if they are still holding back information about their Prophet."
"Perhaps, but I do not see what they could possibly have," Tor said.
"Neither do I but let's keep the option open, he added.
"That bloody Prophet," Tor cursed under his breath but it was loud enough for the Emperor to hear. He well understood the sentiment. The Warrior Prophet had been the sole reason the Darmaris had not been absorbed three thousand years ago, if not by the Cypiene then by the Yoxall. There was a reason the Darmaris still worshipped him and, perhaps, in their worship, they had been the closest to following the intent of the beacons. He sighed. He already knew why his ancestors had not taken the beacons more seriously but it did not help the issue now.
As he began writing the proclamation about refugees, Zaratkiaran's mind wandered to the history of the Yoxall with alien species. Officially the first alien race the Yoxall had discovered were the Darmaris, followed very quickly by their enemies the Cypiene. At that point, the Yoxall Empire had pulled back and watched the two species, not interfering with their fight. But official history was wrong. The first alien race the Yoxall had discovered was a race called the Yagh. It was recorded in the personal journals of the Empress of the time. Empress Honoraneils.
The Yoxall of the time had tried to make peace with the Yagh, just as the beacons had urged but the Yagh hadn't cared. They'd just killed every diplomat, stealing tech until Empress Honoraneils had no choice. She had authorised their extermination and the Yagh became just a memory. It was only afterwards that they realised the Yagh had no beacons. The brutal race had known nothing of the coming darkness.
The Yoxall had learned the Yagh history only after they were dead. It was not recorded well but there was a sense of length to it. The Yagh were a brutal species, even to themselves and it was because they fought each other they had not advanced to space. If their records were to be believed, they had once been space faring. The Yagh were not native to the planet they inhabited. The records had made no sense and most had dismissed it as fancy on the alien's part but the encounter had coloured Yoxall beliefs.
Even knowing that the Yagh did not have beacons, when the Yoxall found the Darmaris, they had not taken a chance. Had the future been decided then?
Zaratkiaran shook his head. No. It couldn't have been. There was still the Assassination.
No matter how closely the races of the galaxy might have been allied that would have destroyed their bonds. But would the assassination have occurred if the species were friendly?
It was a question he'd never know the answer to and ultimately it was pointless and didn't deal with the reality of now. How did one deal with a galactic invasion? You fought obviously but the Emperor's military teachers had made one thing very clear. You never fought unless you knew what the enemy wanted.
So what did these unknown ships want?
Zaratkiaran frowned and then flicked through the data pads using the royal stylus as a pointer. There was no information on what they wanted.
"Is there something the matter?" Tor prompted.
"Has anyone spoken to the unknown ships?" Zaratkiaran asked.
"The Cypiene might have but they have not recorded anything of note and if the Wilms did, the records have not survived."
"And the Gotti are saying nothing, as per usual," he concluded.
"Yes, your Majesty," Chancellor Tor agreed.
"Get my comm master to try," he instructed. "I don't like the thought of fighting something we know nothing of."
"I'll see to it," Tor said as he accepted the paper containing the orders about the refugees. It was best to set such policies now. Then there was less protest later and Zaratkiaran was effective as an Emperor because he often foresaw what orders were necessary and issued them early. The populace was used to a policy then before it truly came into effect.
"There's nothing more today," Zaratkiaran dismissed his Chancellor and watched as the man bowed and then left before he sat back in his chair. He needed more information because he could make further decisions and he sighed. The answers his people wanted would not come today.
-cfr-
Halven-Moffet is another Relay into the galactic core. It makes no sense to me that the Omega 4 Relay is the only one leading there so this is another one, on the southern side of the galaxy. It wasn't found in the Human Cycle because no one opened the Relays leading to it. The Ascended have the full Relay map so they know where all the Relays are, and where they lead.
There won't be lots of chapters of 'revenge'. This cycle will be quite short. The organics will be put in their place through the application of firepower. The best application :D
Review please!