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  “Any word from your father?”

  Ryaana shook her head. “He is still splitting his time between Warpath and the Sowir homeworld. His secret project—Skywrath—should be done soon, and after that he is expected to return to the fleet.”

  “Hm… Your father rarely does what is expected.”

  Ryaana chuckled. “No, he doesn’t.” She shook her head and walked over to the command chair, with Vas taking the chair next to it below the platform. She put all other thoughts out of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She had just taken control of the Dragon and it was time for her to see exactly what it could do.

  She turned toward the crew around her and gave the order for them to make course for Neptune. She really needed to familiarize herself with the crew and the ship. No matter what she said to Vas, she could feel change coming.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Year 708 of the Empire — Galactic core territory — Suvri

  Levisomaerni, High Matriarch of the Partenai, one of the oldest races in the galaxy, sat on a comfortable foam seat with her wings folded over her back and her legs tucked in tightly beneath her body. The being floating in a bubble of water across from her was the Leader of the Suvri star-nation. They were in one of the many rooms built to accommodate beings who could not survive unless underwater—the Suvri were one of very few races in the galactic core which lived exclusively in such conditions. And as Levisomaerni studied the Suvri, he looked back at her with an expression of ease, but she could feel his true feelings. President Hijako of the Suvri was nervous.

  And she understood his nervousness. The Suvri were a core power, but they were the weakest and the smallest one, and their territory lay just at the edge of what was considered the galactic core. Because of that, they had always been looked down on by the other core powers. They were a powerful star-nation for certain, with incredible technology, but they still couldn’t match the other core powers in terms of their numbers. They were a three-race star-nation, when one counted their servant races, and were mainly aquatic and small when compared to most other races. They were barely the size of one of Levisomaerni’s legs, with a sinuous body and a pair of manipulator limbs. Their bodies ended in a fin which helped them navigate the water of their homeworld, and their heads were small orbs at the top.

  They rarely tried to contend with the other races, despite the fact that their technology could match any other core power. They were content to stay on the sidelines, without interfering in the matters of others, which made them the closest thing to a neutral power in the galaxy—something which, perhaps, explained the President’s nervousness.

  Levisomaerni’s visit had been unexpected—despite her attempts to announce herself. Somehow her messages had been missed. President Hijako had already apologized profusely for the error; somehow her messages had been intercepted.

  Levisomaerni had of course pretended to be sufficiently upset at that, as was becoming of someone of her stature, even though she had encountered this before, and in fact it had somehow become the norm. Ever since she had undertaken this mission on behalf of the Emperor Tomas Klein, strange circumstances and coincidences seemed to occur almost regularly. Almost at every step something interfered to hinder her mission. Pirate activity increasing in the areas she was passing through; completely unexplainable border skirmishes suddenly erupting on previously peaceful borders between star-nations; criminal elements getting bolder; increasing tensions between the core powers…

  All this just seemingly happening exactly at the most unfortunate moments.

  Which was why they had long since suspected foul play. Despite this, Levisomaerni had a job to do, and she was close to accomplishing it, even if it will have taken her far longer than she had anticipated.

  And now was the time for the last part of their puzzle. She focused her eyes on President Hijako.

  “You have my gratitude for seeing me on such short notice,” Levisomaerni said.

  “The Suvri people are always willing to speak to our Josanti League neighbors. You honor us with your visit, High Matriarch,” President Hijako responded through the speaker on the edge of the bubble. Suvri speech was nearly incomprehensible to other races; Levisomaerni, on the other hand, could understand it. She’d had a long time to practice understanding their singsong language. But using the translator was somewhat of a tradition for the Suvri—it was why they didn’t speak telepathically with the other races, at least not when they were conducting official business.

  “I believe that you already have some notion as to why I am here, President.”

  President Hijako’s body shivered for a moment, which was Suvri body language for unease. “We have heard some rumors about you trying to get most of the powers in the galaxy together, to discuss a threat.”

  “That is correct. I have reached out to every significant power in the galaxy.”

  The Suvri squirmed some more. “The rumors are that you are undertaking this task on the behalf of a young rimward nation.”

  Levisomaerni narrowed her eyes at the President. There was no need for him to elaborate—she knew very well how nations outside of the core were regarded by those inside of it. Even the Suvri were so far ahead of the rest of the galaxy that their belief that none of the rimward powers could match them was not unreasonable. But there were exceptions, the Empire and its allies being one them. “I know that many doubt my words and the data that I have provided,” Levisomaerni told him pointedly. “But I assure you, the Empire is equal to any of the core powers.”

  The Suvri twitched, and Levisomaerni felt a wave of disbelief come off of him. It was not the first time she had seen this reaction. The core powers were arrogant, and many could not even entertain a notion that a race or a nation living on the edges of the galaxy could match them. The truth, however, could not be changed. The Empire and their closest ally, the Shara Daim, were now considered a single entity by most races in the rim. The newer Erasi nation had slowly over the years become more and more intertwined with the Empire, too, as the trade and relations between the two increased. The Empire was keeping a close eye on their neighbors, and if the things she was hearing were true, overtures to make the Erasi an independent domain within the Empire were gaining strength among the populace. And if one counted the enigmatic and strange Krashinar, the Empire and its allies controlled almost an eighth of the galaxy in the terms of the size of their territory.

  Levisomaerni knew that the number was a bit misleading, however. The territories that the core powers controlled were smaller in terms of size, but they had much greater populations and more colonized systems. Star systems were grouped closer together in the core than they were in the rim, and as such they might control less territory in terms of space, but they still controlled more systems than most rimward nations. The Empire was coming close, but while they had a lower amount of colonized systems and a lower population, they were a great military power—as she had seen firsthand. Levisomaerni knew that if one counted all of the Empire’s allies, they were the greatest military power in the galaxy. Aside from the Enlightened, if what they knew was the truth.

  And that was not something that the core powers, who were ruled by very old beings, could understand. To them, things did not occur so suddenly. In their eyes, the Empire had just sprung up yesterday, and today they were demanding their seniors answer to them. It had taken a lot of negotiating and favor sharing for Levisomaerni to reach this point.

  “High Matriarch,” President Hijako started. “We have heard rumors and tales of this Empire. And even if all of it is true, we do not see a reason why we should meet with them. No matter what this threat you believe exists is, surely the core powers are enough to meet it.”

  Levisomaerni sighed. It was frustrating to have to battle each and every time she tried to bring anyone of importance to the table. “The power of the core powers is undisputed, but there are things that even we had never been able to match. And this is one such thing—a thing we are already familiar
with. The threat we wish to discuss concerns the black ships.”

  The change in the Suvri’s demeanor was immediate. All the people in the galactic core knew about the black ships; many of their populations had started out as refugees fleeing the black ships’ attacks, and there had even been attempts to meet them in battle.

  None of the attempts had ended in their favor. The core powers had technology that could harm the black ships, but no matter how many they destroyed, there were always more. Their ruthless advances were well known, and the black ships were the stuff of nightmares to all who knew about them. The most terrifying thing about them, of course, was that no one knew about the things that they kept hidden away from the galaxy—the Enlightened.

  “The black ships,” President Hijako repeated. “Our scouts have had no indications of them moving again. Nothing other than an increase in their scout ships’ movements over the last centuries…”

  Levisomaerni flared her nostrils in agreement. Most core powers watched the machine ships from a safe distance and tracked their scouts, but there was little point in doing so. The scouts might be smaller and easier to ambush, but no one had ever managed to capture one. Every time there was even a small chance that a black scout could be disabled and captured, they always self destructed. And then there was the fact that they were capable of using the access points left by the People—a fact that not many knew.

  “Yes, the black ships, and something else…something even more dangerous. I know that we, the core powers, rarely work together, and that we think ourselves above all others. But we need to act now, before it is too late. I give you my word that this is not some kind of a ploy. I ask only that all of us meet with the Empire and listen to what they have to say.”

  President Hijako didn’t respond immediately. She could see that he was thinking; it was not every day that someone like Levisomaerni asked for something, and even though her influence had waned in her own home, the Suvri still respected her. She had been a great friend to them over the years. Even if he did not believe anything that she had said, her past actions almost assured that he would not want to insult her.

  “It seems that it would be good if the Suvri took a closer look at this rimward Empire,” he said thoughtfully. Then he turned his eyes at her again. “What exactly do you want from us?”

  “I was hoping that the Suvri would be willing to host this summit: a gathering of representatives of every prominent power in the galaxy.”

  Waves of shock and pride came off of him. Levisomaerni had counted on that—President Hijako was intelligent enough to understand what her request meant. The host star-nation needed to be neutral enough so that all others would agree to meet there, and powerful enough that it could ensure peace during the summit. The Suvri were being honored.

  “That is…a surprising request,” Hijako told her.

  “You are the only candidate to be the host.”

  “You honor us,” Hijako said slowly. “We cannot promise that we will be interested in whatever you and this young Empire wish of us, but we will host the summit.”

  “Thank you. A chance for us to be heard is all that we ask.” Levisomaerni suppressed her relief, not showing it outwardly. A lot had gone wrong over the years, her mission had taken longer than anticipated, but now they were finally so close to their goal. The two exchanged a few more words, agreeing to let their subordinates plan out and settle the rest, and after that Levisomaerni left to return to her ship.

  Once she was in her private office, her aide approached her and turned on the holo feeds around her cushion chair.

  “What is this?” Levisomaerni asked.

  “We finally have proof. We know who has been interfering with our communications.”

  Levisomaerni turned her eyes on the holograms and studied them in detail.

  “But this…” she said after a while. “This doesn’t make sense. I need to send a message to the Empire right now,” Levisomaerni said, and immediately started composing a message. She was certain that the Emperor would be very much interested in what they had found.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Year 708 of the Empire — Enlightened territory

  Doranis of the Enlightened sat on board the Living-ship Devourer, his mind spreading through the ship’s amplifier to oversee his massive fleet. His fleet was about to leave the system deep in the core of Enlightened territory and head for the boundary held by the machine ships created by the People. He liked to test his troops from time to time, though not to actually try and break the boundary—it was not the time for that yet, as far as his compatriots were concerned. For now, he simply wanted to keep his skills sharp, as well as to work off his frustrations.

  Long ago, he had made an agreement—one that he couldn’t break alone without consequences. The only thing that the Enlightened had left was their word, and they had decided long ago that there would be no lies or betrayals between them. They could not risk the future of everything on petty differences, and the balance of the Enlightened was not a thing that Doranis took lightly. He would never endanger their greater plan by acting against the will of the other two.

  But to himself, at least, he could admit that he was growing increasingly impatient. He knew why they were buying time, and while he agreed that they needed time to complete their project in peace, he did not agree with the others’ evaluation of the threat the galaxy posed to them.

  There was more life in the galaxy now than there had been at any other point in time, and yet still there were none that could challenge them. He yearned for the moment when he would finally be able to unleash his power, to show to all what he was. The other races, all those ignorant gnats that threatened the existence of the galaxy by their very presence—they did not understand. They could not. Even if they were to tell them, to show them, he knew what their answer would be. It had been tried before, and every time they reacted with disbelief or by refusing to do what was needed. Always they cried the same thing—There has to be another way!—and always the Enlightened told them the same: Their way was the only way. It was a sacrifice of the life living now for the life yet to be.

  In the eyes of the Enlightened, it was a price that had to be paid.

  At times he wished that they had agreed to take a more direct approach in remedying the problem, instead of opting out for the project. But Doranis held his word above all else, and he would never break their agreement. Instead, he prepared. There were many battles ahead. Once the project was complete, they would need to go out into the galaxy, spread their relays around it, and protect them while Aranis activated the Conduit. There was no other way.

  And then they would finally put back together the things that they themselves had broken. The People’s ignorance and arrogance had led to this, and it was up to the Enlightened to fix it.

  “Master,” came a voice, interrupting Doranis’s thoughts. He turned to look at the created standing beside him: one of the Overseer breeds.

  “Speak,” Doranis ordered.

  “I beg forgiveness for interrupting you, master,” the Overseer said. “I wish to inquire if you plan on taking any of the troops with you. It has been a long time since they have been allowed to wake from their hibernation.”

  Doranis narrowed his eyes at the Created. The Enlightened had crafted them for a singular purpose: to consume life and reproduce. Every soldier they killed was material for the creation of a new Created. And it had been a long time since the last push. The machine fleets always worked to deny them life to feed the Created, but not even they could catch them all. The machine fleets were focused on the greater numbers of star-nations filled with life—but some always remained. There were even a few planets inside Enlightened territory where life was abundant, left there for the training of new Created.

  It had been truly a long time since his troops had seen any action.

  With a thought, Doranis scanned the files available to him, and found one such world inside of Enlightened territory, close to the border. I
t would be good for him to train and test the troops as well as the fleet.

  “Very well, wake up two throngs. We shall make time to test them as well.”

  “As you order, master.” The Overseer bowed and moved away.

  Doranis returned his focus to his fleet, allowing himself to stretch his mind through every command ship. There were fifty command ships in this fleet, each commanding ten thousand combat-class bioships. It was a small portion of his full forces, with the rest of the Enlightened commanding similar numbers. It was a force larger than any he had used in a long time against the machine fleets.

  But he was getting bored, and he was unwilling to return to hibernation. Not now.

  Every one of their ships was a hybrid of technology and biology. They had long ago decided that biological weapons were superior for their needs. Biology could be altered far more easily with their powers, and adding technological upgrades was so simple with the few mobile yards of the People that they still had in their possession.

  Most of their ships were not actually alive; the biological materials they were built of did not interact to create an intelligent life form. Instead, they were mindless automatons which were controlled by the Created, on board or remotely. Their Living-ships were the only ones which were alive in a true sense. As they were the command hubs for the other ships in their fleets, through their minds the Enlightened could control the rest of their forces.

  There were only three Living-ships in existence, one for each of the Enlightened. Their primary use, aside from controlling the other ships, was to serve as amplifiers for the Enlightened. Although their minds were simple things, they were used as vessels for the Enlightened to expand their abilities.