A Change in Objectives

Sylvon Year 2195 (Indoraptor Year 1267), November, Sylvon Assembly space, classified location...

"It is not my fault, madam!" Nobec shouted defiantly.

"Yes, it is."

"No, madam, it is not! I've done everything according to the organization's accepted parameters! We have delivered you the relics that you all requested!"

Nobec the mercenary stood defiantly despite the spy mistress' rising anger. The person he answered to, the ever-so-enigmatic spy mistress of the Silver Blade organization, greatly disagreed with the male's self-proclaimed success. Why?

"You may have brought us what we needed, but it does not please us," The spy mistress hissed in disappointment, "You failed to eliminate all evidence regarding your presence in the Union space, making you a liability to the Silver Blade."

Ah, so that was the reason behind her discontent. The Council of Elders ordered the organization's agents to perform more reconnaissance missions across the Union's territory under the guise of tourists or guest researchers, intended to find out whether their hidden rivals managed to discover more secret relics. However, fate was not on their side; the Indoraptors suspected that something nasty was at work and began to limit access to certain parts of their territory under the guise of security evaluation. All travel documents were to be examined thoroughly to avoid possible cases of forgery.

Nobec and his lackeys weren't very good at keeping their activities under wraps. The Union and its neighbor, the Polity of Laritem, were still uneasy ever since the bloody robbery two years ago.

Stepping closer to the disgraced mercenary, the spy mistress leaned close to the male's earhole and whispered, "Thanks to you, the Union's intelligence agency is becoming more alert than usual. You have embarrassed us. You are no longer useful to the Assembly, the Council of Elders, and our species," as her cranial tentacles whacked Nobec in the face. Shocked, dejected, the mercenary could only stare in disbelief at his superior's venomous assertion, knowing that his time was up.

"Do you wish to be reminded of your mistakes?"

Nobec looked at the spy mistress as she sat back on her seat. Murmurs were heard amongst the watching onlookers.

"No, madam."

Well, he still remembered just how many mistakes he did in his career. Even if the robbery acted by his comrades in Lemuria was a success, the subsequent attempts at repeating the act on the Union's other colonies and space stations were less than acceptable. On Graniva, he and his men were deported for visiting laboratories where other ancient relics were being studied without legal permission, and then there were his visits to the research stations orbiting barren planets where military-grade weapons were tested. All infiltration missions he was tasked to carry out failed; even though Nobec procured stolen data for the organization to analyze, his rapport sheet was nevertheless filled with failure after failure, angering the spy mistress and the Silver Blade as a whole.

Now, Union military ships were patrolling their space more frequently than usual, keeping a close eye on ships that approached their border. From then on, the Assembly's espionage missions became too dangerous to be continued. The mercenary then gambled his chances by hiring a pirate group to distract the Union's navy fleet so he could proceed with his mission, only for the Union's navy to curb stomp their way through the pirate fleet, leaving no survivor. The result was almost predictable; the Indoraptors put every visitor from the Sylvon Assembly as a potential threat.

To further perturb the Assembly's tentacles, the Human Republic of Earth had been in contact with the Union. The prospect of them working together was… detrimental.

The Sylvon's Council of Elders suspected the likelihood of the democratic primates being warned of the Assembly's unscrupulous engagements by the lizards...

"May I conclude this little charade, madam? We don't need him anymore."

The request came from someone among the onlookers.

"Yes, you may," the spy mistress replied coldly.

The humiliated mercenary froze as he eventually realized the end of his usefulness as a Sylvon in a black suit stepped forward, his gun pointed straight.

A loud bang echoed in the room and Nobec fell limp, his eyes lifelessly stared to the people in front of him.

"Get him out of my sight," the spy mistress spoke. Promptly, some of the spectators grabbed the dead body and dragged it away while the remaining bystanders slowly vacated the room. A foul mood was simply not the correct word to describe the female's emotion at the moment; she was both infuriated at the mercenary's incompetence and troubled that the Council of Elders would catch wind of the organization's lack of meaningful progress. Only the mercenary's murderer stayed as the spy mistress gestured him to step nearer. The assassin in black suit gently bowed in reverence.

"I deduce there will be some discussion concerning us, madam?" He asked

"Concerning your future duties from here on," the female alien said. Letting her anger fade away would be the best course of action, she decided. "You are too valuable for the organization and I don't think fieldwork is the best duty for you. Perhaps your pupils can be trusted to take over your primary duties?"

The agent said nothing as the spy mistress rose from her seat again. "We are becoming too engrossed in all these espionage actions, Naja. We better stop at the moment and reflect on our latest engagements, lest we reveal our weaknesses too early," she confided in the male Sylvon.

Naja, the agent in black, appeared uncomfortable at the spy mistress' statement. "To clarify, Councilor Astrax is gradually losing his popularity in the political circle. He has grown too militant in his quest to achieve domination. His prime agenda is to transform the Indoraptors we've hassled all this time into our right-hand attack beasts. He wants to do it the hard way. I, on the other hand, wanted nothing but to claim their historical heritage for ourselves," the spy mistress explained, "We need genuine, irrefutable proof that our race is the greatest of all. We don't need military supremacy; we need historical and technological supremacy."

The male nodded cautiously. "Furthermore, I've been in contact with certain people that could use your help. They are geneticists, to be precise, and I want you to keep an eye on their progress."

Naja bowed again at the female's proposal. The spy mistress had been reading the agent's dossiers, having learned from her mistakes with the mercenaries. She required no boastful subordinate like the foolish Nobec and his small group of inept fools; she required someone with skills, loyalty, and experience.

"Listen up. My research on the flower-shaped relic is currently 60 percent complete, and yet I am facing a shortage of data. With the Indoraptors limiting entry to our people, your pupils' current task will be to spy on the Avirens' top researchers and see if they have anything pertaining to the ancient relics the lizards found while you stick around to monitor the geneticists. Until we can sufficiently determine the true nature of the flower relic, we'll have to bide our time until then."

"And what about Councilor Astrax, madam?"

"As long as he remains all talk and no action, we may allow him to perform his daily errands unhindered."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Aviren Year 2223 (Indoraptor Year 1268), April, planet Laritem, Executive's Office...

"Tell me what truly occurred on the main plaza."

"All of it, Madam Executive?"

"All of it. Please don't leave out any detail."

Once again the Aviren prime leader, Executive Zyr, sat in her office, listening to one of her secretaries elaborating an unnerving incident from five days ago. There was an uproar in their internet system called the 'Slavery Campaign', an online movement mentioned by those who had their internet accounts riddled with jingoistic insults from the Sylvon Assembly. These mails spoke of how slavery was the finest way of life, how slavery determined who was the strongest of races and who should be trampled at the bottom of the social caste.

"I don't understand, ma'am. So far, all news outlets declared that the event was orchestrated by black market hackers, not by the Sylvons' government. Even with an official apology from their councilors, I believe something didn't add up."

Not long after the demeaning campaign was taken down from the Polity's internet, two cases of burglary appeared on their mass media. Just like the terrifying case of robbery and manslaughter on the Indoraptor Union's colony, museums containing old artifacts from excavation projects were broken in by mysterious individuals. The difference was that, in the Avirens' museums, only a small handful of artifacts went missing and there were no people killed in both crime scenes.

"Either the people around the museum were very lucky or the thieves, which I assume to be Sylvon immigrants, learned from their mistake after their previous act."

Naturally, the public flew into a rage and demanded the Executive and her Governors to close the Polity's borders from Sylvon immigrants. Even with the Indoraptors promising aid in the form of another species that had... special yet unsettling bond with them, Executive Zyr couldn't help but wonder at how long the mollusks and their puzzling Assembly had been letting their criminals did whatever they please.

"Shall I start from the beginning or...?"

"No. Let's skip that part; I want to know how the hell the mollusk bastards terrorized us via internet hacking and burglary," the executive waved her hand dismissively. The secretary recognized the hand gesture a little too well; it meant his superior decided that all secondary information to be considered trivial and could be dealt with later. He might as well obeyed and do as Zyr told.

"At the start of its appearance, the mega-screens in the plaza only had these advertisement inserts that were too small to be immediately noticed by the public," the secretary said. "Two days after that, propaganda-like commercials would come online every six hours on certain mega-screens, then-supposed to be glitches in the system. Our technicians hadn't considered it very important. On the following day, the mega-screens blasted the so-named Slavery Campaign in a high volume once every three hours, forcing the technicians to forcibly shut down all mega-screens on every plaza on Laritem. IT personnel did an exhaustive sweep on our network, but all traces of the campaign's senders were oddly erased."

"Not long after the forced shutdowns, civilians by the dozens began reporting two separate events of museum break-in, just like on the Union's colony planet Lemuria."

Zyr nodded grimly and gestured her secretary to speak more.

"The public had been quite intimidated by the event, fearful that another case of mass murder has taken place, and productivity has decreased by 23 percent." the Aviren concluded his narration. He handed over his portable computer for the executive to evaluate; a long list of disturbances caused by the Sylvons and complaints being posted as a response to those outrageous vandalisms. Further down the list were recommendations for Executive Zyr to strengthen the Avirens' connection with the Indoraptors.

"Is there anyone arrested by the police force in the aftermath?" Executive Zyr inquired, still reading the wealth of information on the portable computer.

"Only one, ma'am. Sadly, the person in question is… how do I say it, a stoolpigeon? He claimed to be a simple IT guy who was promised a gift of money from the alleged culprits, but then he was left behind, knocked unconscious whereas the burglars fled," replied the unhappy secretary. For a minute the two of them shared a look of understanding.

"Curse the damned mollusks. Curse them all."

"My thoughts exactly, ma'am," the secretary agreed solemnly, "We can't afford to stand alone in this."

The irritated Zyr returned the portable computer in silence. The military sector wasn't their best forte and the Avirens were not prepared to battle a proxy war like this. Furthermore, the Indoraptors were kind of busy facing their own share of sabotages to assist the Polity in any meaningful way. Zyr was assured of the Polity's protection and prosperity when the Union allowed them to study various schematics of the Union's arsenal and warships, but the avians required more joint projects. Valuable minerals needed to build those warships were also in a slight shortage; it's a blessing that the Union was more than willing to send the Avirens some surplus minerals, particularly the likes of steel and platinum.

Perhaps the best way to survive through the coming storm was to join forces with the Union's peculiar ally and hope that the Polity could contribute in some useful capacity.

Would the Polity of Laritem make it? Only time will tell.

"Sir, would you kindly bring officer Xivena in? I am assured that he has more experience in cooperating with the Union to undermine the Sylvon Assembly's crusades. We'll have to send out more mediators as time goes by," Zyr spoke as she shuffled through the paperwork on her table. The secretary seemed hesitant for a second, though he ultimately complied and left the office to find the man.

Deep breaths, the female Aviren said in her mind, deep breaths. She now understood the pressure her alien ally must be facing these days and angry heads wouldn't deliver them to the best solution. She could prepare a public speech to raise the populace's morale, but talking in rousing emotion was easier said than done. Perhaps her aide might be able to shed his insight on the matter?

Maybe she could communicate with the Union's Prime Minister.

But that ought to wait. First, the disillusioned executive must convene with the Governors and resolve the situation; find out what could be done to help the public recover from the widespread anxiety.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Indoraptor Year 1268, September, Deep Space Internet Archive...

(RETRIEVING CONVERSATION ARCHIVE...)

(ARCHIVE LOCATED, PLEASE WAIT...)

"President Charles Ashford, thank you very much for calling. It's not often for people to contact me via a private channel, let alone from the Human Republic of Earth itself."

"The pleasure is all yours, Union Prime Minister. Xen Alven, isn't it? Please pardon us should we get your name wrong."

"Certainly, my new friend. And don't worry about miswriting my name; I've learned to ignore it as long as the situation is informal."

"Very well, then.Also, for your information, please ignore all accusations from my citizens and their social media regarding your people's use of names such as 'Terra' and 'Sol system' as an elaborate hoax. Obviously, we never expected to suddenly receive a message or two from a world mirroring our own, which we thought at first to be an error in our computers. Until now, I have no idea whether to classify you as a friend, a neighbor, or a rival. I think a distant neighbor is more preferable since we haven't interacted closely with each other."

"I know how you feel, President Ashford. We initially refused to believe it either, despite countless years and currencies poured into this long-term research. When the full news got out, our community over here demanded me to step down from my position as the Union's Prime Minister unless I have solid proof that you, the parallel Humans, are real and worth being our friends. It was a miracle that you remained composed and professional during the First-Contact days, therefore you have my eternal gratitude. I dare not thinking a possible war which might break between us..."

"Thank you for your kind words, Minister Alven. My people over here were also scared that you Indoraptors might be the scourge of God that will cleanse our Earth or something like that. Thankfully, our politicians managed to calm the masses down before anything unpleasant took place."

"You're welcome, Mr. President. By the way, this is no ordinary gossiping, I assume?"

"Lately I find myself agonizing over whether or not I should try to initiate small talks with you. You know, to improve relationships?"

"I do appreciate the gesture, Mr. President, but something tells me that... you are feeling exposed to danger. Shall we talk more straightforwardly?"

"You're a direct type of person, aren't you? No offense by the way."

"None taken."

"The Republic's Defense Fleets currently were getting pretty concerned by unidentified ships trespassing into our space for weeks if not months. Can you at least share some info on this? I guarantee you, I'm not accusing you of anything bad. I'm aware that you are quite busy running the Union and all that, but..."

"It must be the works of the Sylvon Assembly of Akantorin and their enigmatic Council of Elders. Those two-legged cowardly mollusks… we are becoming annoyed by how often they harassed us lately. At first, it was nothing more than document counterfeiting and nasty gossips, but soon it escalated to robbery, murder, and hacking. We have chosen to limit their entry to our space for the time being."

"Damn, you have my sympathies, Minister Alven. I guess you'll need every assistance you can get, huh?"

"Have my diplomats shared our research data with you, by the way?"

"Yes, they have. At first, we assume the Sylvons to be of no imminent danger to us and were content to let you sort them out at your leisure. But as of last month, the Sylvons had been sending spying corvettes to fly in and out at a random interval. Sometimes, we caught them surveying our colonies or mining stations, other times they were visibly scanning our space stations and patrolling fleets from afar. We still haven't figured out the true intentions behind these unregulated actions... Our admirals and generals have advised me to increase security patrols, although I suppose asking the Union for help wouldn't hurt."

"Do you fear the likelihood of proxy war? We over here do, President Ashford. We've been reinforcing the Grand Fleet in the event another terrorist attack occurs."

"Terrorist attack?"

"Our largest colony, Lemuria, was the one to witness a museum robbery, followed by mass murder. Many museum employees and visitors perished in the attack, and dozens more were wounded. Certain exhibits in our museum were stolen. The mollusks themselves tried to issue an apology and an attempt to trace where the burglars went, but by the tone of the statement, I don't believe the apology was sincere. In the following weeks, pirates and mercenaries tried to enter our borders, although they were all repelled."

"I am sorry for your loss, my friend. If you need anything, you may contact the Republic for help. We should be able to assist you in future relief efforts if you wish."

"For now, I can only bring you warnings, sir. Fortify your territory and your armies, and keep your internet line safeguarded from any hackers. The damn aliens and their mystery council will want to provoke you in some way."

"Got it."

"For the record, I suggest you withhold giving the Sylvons any access to your stations or planets, but the bird-like Avirens can be excluded from the blacklist as long as you're fine having them around. I'll forward some useful Intel to your information analysts some twenty-four hours from now, but make sure to secure your information network; our communication right now could be secretly monitored by the Assembly's spies and we can't afford to let them gain anything of value."

"Very well, I'll keep that in mind. And Minister Alven?"

"Yes?"

"May God protect you."

"You too, Mr. President."