Your writing conveys how insidious and unsettling the Sheelikoi are, I know I said it before but this is very well done.
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Thanks, yes, it seemed the most natural way to explain why half of the uri fleet decided to attack the Slither's Fang in clear numeric inferiority, while the rest of the coalition was already reunited. The ikaanans and the other allies just reached the Ur Ithra system, but, after the defeat of the smaller uri fleet, they all turned around and fled.
Thank you, I'm glad it gives the proper idea; I'll try to have the next chapter ready for later today.
THE GREAT COALITION WAR II (2355 – 2357)
The Long Chase
-Your symphonies are quite delectable, Xreedren- Thought admiral Zacadliss, placidly listening to the small orchestra reunited on the warship’s bridge.
Most of the operators on deck were otherwise focused coordinating the Great Conqueror’s landing on Soll’Gavance and the collective efforts of the rest of the fleet to bomb the uri planet, though some of them took a few moments from time to time to listen to the dissonant melodies coming from the admiral’s corner.
-I shall make so a hundred times a hundred slaves be bestowed upon you for this precious musical offering, and lush lands in our Rising Leethran.-
-Most obliged, High Farseer, Master of Stars and Excellent Slither.- Answered the composer, whipping his tail with anticipation.
-High Farseer, the Great Prince Rezicax calls for us.- Interjected an operator.
With an annoyed snap of his claws, the admiral allowed the communication to be established, and turned his head to face the Prince’s hologram.
“It is for dire reasons that I call upon you, High Farseer.” Started to say Rezicax.
“I would not expect otherwise in times of terrible war such as these, Excellent and Powerful Prince.”
“Have you been made aware that the prey has reached and blockaded Rovgeddi?”
“It has been brought to my divine attention, yes…”
“You’d know then,” added the Great Prince, “that nearly all of the Avarrian Arm has been lost to these lesser creatures. Such unnatural news are starting to spread amongst the uv-xantt slaves... The thoughts such apparent weakness creates are blasphemous and unacceptable. Beak of Ivory they call the ikaanan crow leading the Compact, they think of him as great leader, some, even, harbor hidden hopes of freedom at his hands.”
The High Farseer leaned forward, intertwining his claws. “To deal with slaves,” he answered, “is a Tyrant’s whim, not a Farseer’s.”
“Yet to deal with the enemies of the Slithers is yours.”
“We’ve been over this. Redundancy does not befit the divine. If your smaller warships are unable to engage them in time, how can you imagine the Fang could? The prey has made itself faster thanks to its crafts, it is no use to chase it.”
“You had foreseen,” insisted Rezicax, “that attacking their homeworlds would have led them to you again, but it is not so.”
“It will be so, in time.”
“The fleets of our enemies are already shattered, striking dozens of our worlds separately, we know where they are, yet your stubbornness prevents us to cleanse them. I can foresee their sloppiness: you need only to take advantage of it, split the Fang and fall upon each and every one of them at the same time. There shall be nowhere for them to escape.”
Zacadliss clicked his tongue and widened his eyes. “What is this? Do you mock our divine mandate? The Fang cannot be split, it would be obscene to do so. If you think it sublime, do speak to the First Slither, hear his holy judgement on your questionable proposition. The impurity of sound is further increased by such thoughts, let us not speak of this again and let oblivion take these unholy ideas, for they beckon suspects of fear, unbecoming of a predatory mind. This divine meeting need not be fruitless nevertheless: the fleets of our enemies may not be caught by the Fang yet, but the minds of their leaders are well within your reach, o Great Prince. Have your emissaries breach their souls and unveil their secret plans, they shall be of great use to us in our quest for triumph.”
*****************
Druuthn looked behind himself, twisting on his seat, but, once again there was nothing there.
Since they had moved deeper into Hypercoil space, it had become harder to sleep; several crewmembers had been removed from their post and confined to their quarters, consumed by delusions of paranoia. It was still uncertain whether the cause was simple superstition and stress, or the actual work of sheelikean psions. The uncertainty itself was extremely frustrating for Druuthn. The only solace was that, whatever the reasons, at least the jhoolians appeared to be immune to that kind of stress, probably because the fungoid aliens had no nervous system to begin with. Unfortunately, that was not the case for the rest of the confederate forces.
The campaign itself had been mostly successful immediately after the uri debacle, with many destroyed enemy outposts and a few liberated planets; they had also received news that the Consciousness was establishing a new provisional government in Fesh’Ujba, which meant they would soon become somewhat functional again, but the low morale of the armies was hindering their efforts at every turn.
No matter how much Druuthn tried to explain to his allies how valuable their victories were, they all perceived them as hollow. The ikaanan admiral himself was starting to doubt his own words: at first, it was just primitive worlds, then, when they had finally reached the lower end of the former uri colonies, Rovgeddi and Enim, they found only horror and shame to welcome them. Knowing of their inevitable occupation, the sheelikoi had tormented and mutilated a large part of the populations of those systems, to rob the uri of their awaited reunion with their long-lost brothers and sisters of Lancord and their former khessam allies. Druuthn had landed on Lancord only to find a broken people, uri squatting in ruins, lobotomized, sometimes with their ocular antennae removed, sometimes one or both arms amputated, many times with their genitals unceremoniously cut off.
Those amongst them that the Slithers did not manage to maim before withdrawing from the systems had been tortured with footage of the destruction of Ur Idra and the other core worlds of the Consciousness, perpetrated by the Fang. They met their liberation at the hands of the Righteous Compact with sour feelings and a deep resentment, for the sheelikean psions had told them that the Compact had been responsible for their misfortunes. When the admirals of the coalitions were forced to admit to the populations of the two worlds that the information about Ur Idra was true and that neither their fleet nor the Uri Consciousness was in a state to carry them away to safety in one of the inner systems, the lancordians almost revolted against their liberators.
To top it all off, since the start of the war, they had yet to capture a single sheelikor. Most of the times, they were already gone before the confederate fleets even reached a planet, if any had been there at all to begin with; the rare times when one or two strugglers were caught in the orbital blockade, the viciousness of their resistance and the insidiousness of their mind powers ended the confrontation either with their escape or with their death.
“Sir? We have a message from the hiffnarian fleet.”
“Yes..?” asked Druuthn, still distracted by his thoughts. “Yes, patch it through.”
“Sir, they do not desire to talk. They request permission for departure.”
“What? Denied. Open a channel.”
The wide frame of the hiffnar took form on the ikaanan’s side, clearly agitated.
“Come now, Grmph, we’ve all had a rough day, what is the meaning of-?”
“We’ve received news from home. The Fang destroyed our defense fleet in the Rubiz system. The Archdukes demand that we return to Hiffnar to guarantee its safety.”
“We’ve been over this, you know that is exactly what-“
“I don’t care what you think as much as the Archdukes don’t care of what I think.”
Druuthn, leaned forward, shivering with anger. “That’s preposterous, they are a member of this federation, it is their duty to abide by federal regulations! What are they expecting to do, squandering your lives? You don’t stand a chance alone against the Fang. Only together-“
“Together we’ve done a whole lot of nothing!” shouted the bovine. “You have us running around in circles, but the worms don’t care! They keep moving forward! We have to stop them!”
“This is.. this is borderline treason.”
The ikaanan turned to one of the operators and whistled at him. “Call the other admirals, they all need to hear this.”
“Yes, sir.”
“It won’t matter.” Said Grmph, while the holograms of the rest of the military junta started to take form. “We’re leaving. If you care about us, we’re glad to have you on our side.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Typical.” Started Clatt, nervously twisting his antennae. “It is like I told you from the start: Druuthn doesn’t care, as long as ikaanan worlds are not directly threatened.”
“Oh, please...” Retorted the ikaanan, with a sigh of exasperation. “Is this your idea then, Clatt?”
“You are no better than them,” continued the uri, who showed clear signs of sleep deprivation. “You don’t care how many of our people die or are.. are.. mutilated by those monsters, for you our worlds are just a distraction to keep them busy! You just hope to win the race and get to the sheelikean homeworld before the Fang gets to yours!.. Even provided that they do have a homeworld in the first place. For all we know the Fang is their home!”
Druuthn clenched his fingers on the arms of the chair and narrowed his eyes. “First: every projection from before the war gave the Uri Consciousness space as the most likely to receive extended bombing, when discussing the plans for a possible invasion of the Hypercoil, your network said it was an acceptable risk. You are the ones with more experience fighting against the sheelikoi, and now you’re telling me that you did not expected this kind of mayhem? Did you expect the Slithers to take prisoners and respect civilians? Second: all we’re doing here is far from useless. For more than a century the Hypercoil sectors have been a mystery, if all goes wrong, the intel we’ve gained in these years will be priceless for any future effort to undo this empire. To find how it works, who their other victims have been, where are their fortresses, their spaceports, if they do indeed have a home planet or other sheelikoi colonies, we must know where they are! You’d have us charge head on their fleets. Let’s say we win. What next? We move aimlessly around with a broken fleet, hoping to stumble on their homeworld before they build back the Fang? We know that they are faster at making ships, are you blind?! Have you not seen all the production lines we’ve destroyed during these past years? We couldn’t have managed to take them down with a fleet still recovering from a battle against the Fang!”
Druuthn finally stopped to take a deep breath, and leaned back on his chair, but the uri admiral was ready to talk back at him.
“There will always be more production lines! It seems you are the one who is blind! Have you forgotten Goz? The moment our fleets left, the slaves started to build a new spaceport. We can’t kill them, but Grmph was right: we can’t trust them either. And we don’t have enough ground troops to garrison every planet we conquer to prevent that kind of thing from happening! Meanwhile, the Fang destroys valuable planets, our planets! It’ll take us years to build back what they’ve destroyed, if not more! If they reach Odlamon, the Hiffnar Worlds are done for. Theirs and our governments have been allied from way before the Righteous Compact was formed, we cannot abandon them. You’d have us doom an entire civilization, while you are making us move aimlessly around, searching for a world that might not even exist!”
Druuthn was too tired and frustrated to answer immediately, but luckily admiral Plyytrh decided to come to his aid.
“It must exist, Clatt.” Said the fungoid. “The shared intel from the Bessadon Star Hive strongly indicates that-”
“Ah!” Scoffed the uri. “The bessadon? The blasted bessadon? Who knows what they’re planning! Do you think they would not have us on a false lead to squander our resources, then pick up the pieces of the Consciousness, like they did with the iztran?”
“You’re blinded by fear,” continued Plyytrh. “After the psionic attack at Ur Idra, how could the bessadon not see the Hypercoil as their main concern? They use a neural network akin to your own.”
“For all we know, they could have helped them devise the virus. How else could primitives such as the sheelikoi create this kind of weapon?”
Plyytrh was about to make a counterstatement, but Druuthn stopped him with a gesture.
“Fine,” said the ikaanan. “Do as you will. Go, may the Winds be favorable to you.”
Clatt was surprised by the sudden turn on the ikaanan’s stance, and could only give some half-worded thanks, while Grmph nodded with severity and placed his fist on his chest.
“Good. With luck we’ll meet again, admiral.” Said the bovine, before both his and the uri’s hologram disappeared.
“The hiffnarian and uri fleets are disengaging formation, sir.” Confirmed one of the operators.
There was a moment of silence amongst the remaining members of the confederated junta, before Plyytrh decided to break it.
“This was not a wise move.” Stated the fungoid, with a cold tone.
“It was the only move.” Answered Druuthn with a tired voice. “They have been unstable since the defeat at Ur Idra, it was only a matter of time. To force them yet again would have served nothing.”
“Perhaps...” said Lyupl, the gelatinous havoll admiral. “Perhaps, if the Consciousness manages to restore order in its own colonies in time, they might get them to stop before it’s too late.”
Druuthn nodded, though he severely doubted that the Consciousness would have not supported Clatt’s decision.
“We must not let this distract us. We move as planned. We’ve almost reached the Kazon pulsar. We might finally be close to our main target.”
A few more formalities and the junta was dismissed, leaving the ikaanan alone on his chair, looking at the emptiness of space.
Before the war had started, Druuthn saw the sheelikoi as many ikaanans did: an unfortunate alien culture, twisted by the tyrannical regime of the Slithers. Yet, as he had fought them, seeing the atrocities they committed, the marks of cruelty and callous megalomania that each seemed to leave in his path, the High Admiral was starting to think if he hadn’t been wrong. Perhaps they were all the monsters that they were depicted to be. Perhaps there were no oppressed or ignorant sheelikoi somewhere out there, being exploited by the Slithers just like the other slave species. Perhaps there was really nothing more to it. The things that he had seen them commit, how could just a few aberrant minds rule over all those many worlds for so long without the support of their own?
*****************
“We’re nearing Raxum, sir.” Said the uri operator. Clatt nodded, his gaze lost in the hyperlane’s flashing tunnel.
“The time has come. Open the main internal channel, I’d like to address the crew.”
“Yes, sir.”
He had thought about all that Druuthn had said to him and Grmph for the entirety of the voyage back home, no matter how much he tried to push the ikaanan’s words outside of his mind.
Druuthn did not understand his pain. He did not experienced being cut off from the Consciousness. For an ikaanan it was normal to be alone, like Clatt was now. He could see only those that were around him, only talk to those that were within earshot. The greatest mutilation that the sheelikoi had inflicted upon them was the one they had forced all the uri to undergo, to take away their implants.
“This is the Admiral speaking. Men, we will reach Raxum momentarily. You know what awaits us and our allies of Hiffnar there. You’ve seen the path of destruction and desperation that the Fang has left on its wake. Some of you have experienced it closer than others. But we all know what the enemy is capable of. His list of grievances is greater than what any person could suffer himself to bear. But it is no simple people those that we prepare ourselves to fight. The sheelikoi are monsters. A plague upon this galaxy, which exists only to bring suffering and violence to any who opposes their tyrannical rule. They do not know what it is to live together in peace... To be together. Their armies might be greater, but each of their ships, each of the soldiers inside them.. they’re alone. They are lonely and hate-filled murderers, with delusions of godhood.”
With a bright flash, the fleet emerged from hyperspace. The Slither’s Fang encompassed the entire screen, already in formation. Foll’Sewa had fallen and the fleet seemed to be on its way to the next system.
“Look..!” Said suddenly Clatt’s lieutenant. “They’re still maneuvering, their transports ar-!”
“We are not alone.” Continued triumphantly the admiral. “We will prevail! Because, unlike them, we believe in a just cause, we believe in freedom, in unity, and in justice for all those which they have tormented for all these years!”
The uri gestured to his lieutenant. “Engange the fleet, focus all fire on the transports, kill the psions!”
The Sheelikoi's fear tactics are continuing to pay off in spades, now dividing the federation trying to bring you down. I don't love the Uri's chances against the Fang. It'd be an underdog victory, and this doesn't seem like that kind of story.
Yeah, the Uri Consciousness was badly placed in this war. As Druuthn stated, embracing the Hypercoil's territories and finding itself between Hypercoil and the other members of the Compact assured that it would have been the main target of any invasion, especially since the wormhole tecnology used by the sheelikoi does not allow them to simply move through enemy space, they need to encroach one step at a time.I feel so bad for the uri
THE GREAT COALITION WAR III (2357 – 2362)
The Secret World
Zeraxim’s wrath resonated across the Fang, the High Farseer could feel the general’s spite and resentment towards the prey as if he’d been next to him. The sudden attack by the uri fleet had costed them nearly half of their armies.
-Never before so many sheelikoi died in a war!- his thoughts reverberated in the mind of the High Farseer. –How could you not foresee their coming? It is blasphemous, unthinkable!-
-Do not be too hasty in your judgement. Our superiority cannot be in question: the warriors were not truly defeated, for they did not fight. And the prey, in its suicidal strike, was quickly dealt with as well. Besides, I did indeed foresee the coming of the uri, alone... And come they have.-
The Great Conqueror was still seething with rage, but, before he could add something, the High Farseer continued: -Many of the uri were captured alive, Great Conqueror. It is only natural for your righteous anger to strike them, again and again.-
-Time for that will come. But first, we must send for reinforcements from Xanaslisk. Rebuild my armies.-
-And so it shall be.-
*****************
Druuthn could not take the sight off the image on the main screen.
“Then.. there can be no doubt about it?” asked cautiously the ikaanan.
“No, sir. The probe shows a high activity on the surface, the life signs are consistent with sheelikean biology.”
“Establish contact with the junta and give them the coordinates, we make the jump immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Holograms of the other admirals immediately took form on his sides.
“This is it. We’ve found it.”
Everything seemed to be in accordance to their astrographic sources: a red sun, an asteroid belt, a tropical satellite. High activity on the surface, and a massive space station drifting over the binary planetary orbit. The High Admiral could almost not believe no fleets had been reported around such a system. Whether it had truly been the capital or just a sheelikoi colony, it was the first world filled with their species that the coalition had found in years of exploration. How could the Slithers leave it unguarded?
“This could be a trap.” Said Plyytrh, giving voice to Druuthn’s inner fears. “A defense fleet might be hiding close by, in one of the nearby systems, or using some unknown cloaking device.”
“Could it?” asked admiral Lyupl. “This is a historic moment. I don’t think they ever had to fear an attack so close home, why waste their resources?”
“Either of you could be right.” Answered Druuthn. “But this is a risk we must take. All military strategies designed in the past few decades by the Righteous Compact were based upon the notion that the Slither’s Fang constitutes the vast majority of the sheelikean forces, and that the sheelikoi are unwilling to split them. Even if this is not true, and this is a trap, we must proceed, if nothing else to test their forces, to see how many fleets they are still hiding.”
He could feel not all of the admirals were in agreement over the last point, but none of them voiced other concerns, and the last hyperjump was made.
The confederate ships emerged in the Basakrim system with a bright flash, and made their way to the presumptive homeworld of the sheelikoi. A sense of fear and anticipation had taken the High Admiral since he had received the footage from the probe; now, every thousandth kilometer forward without a sheelikean fleet appearing from nowhere was a new surge of hope that the Slithers’ pride might have had truly brought them to leave their most precious world entirely unguarded.
“All cannons, target the spaceport. Prepare to fire whenever at range.”
The orbital station was massive, even from that distance, the ikaanan could see the gargantuan machinery slowly moving to piece together a new battleship, that would have likely had gone to reinforce the Fang’s forces in a few months.
Hours upon hours passed, making them ever closer to their target. No amount of tiredness could take Druuthn off his post. He knew that that maneuver and the following attacks would have taken days, but the stakes were too high: he could not allow himself to sleep even for an hour, and, doing so, possibly risk the success of that operation because of its absence in a crucial moment.
The ikaanan kept his eyes on the screen, looking at the station and the planet. The scanner had confirmed that there were mostly sheelikoi on that world. What did that mean? How did they work as a society, without slaves? He could see the faint lights of their cities on the dark side, the lush green and blue of jungles and seas on the bright one; he stared at every detail that the sensors could detect, hoping to catch a detail, something that could give him a greater insight on those creatures.
After the uri’s and hiffnar’s split, he had almost hoped that, once they had found the sheelikean home planet, it would have been filled with slaves. That would have just confirmed his worse hypothesis on the sheelikoi’s nature. Now, on one hand, Druuthn could not deny he felt less worried about bombing a planet filled only with sheelikoi, but on the other hand, what did he truly know of those people? Were they really all like the Slithers?
It was only when they finally reached the spaceport’s range that the sensors caught a call from the planet. It was the first official communication from the Hypercoil since their declaration of war, further proof that the confederates might have been on the right track.
The contact was non-visual, with a clearly artificial voice talking through the intercom, translating the sheelikor’s hisses.
“How dare you approach First Slither Xirleekan Xanaslisk Temple of Fear and Glory, Master of the Emptiness that-”
“I know the First Slither’s titles.” Interrupted the ikaanan. “This is High Admiral Druuthn, of the coalition fleets of the Righteous Compact.” While speaking, the ikaanan gestured his lieutenant to proceed with the attack as planned, and the first energy cannons fired at the spaceport.
He had initially thought about letting the sheelikoi go with their usual longwinded formalities for the sake of diplomacy, but, in that circumstances, that might have very well been just a distraction, one he would have not allowed.
“With whom do I speak?”
“Foolish mortal, you dare raise arms against the furnace of the divine? Your end shall-“
“We are representative of enlightened governments, this junta does not recognize the Slithers’ claim to divinity, nor their claims on the Uri Sectors, which the First Slither’s fleet has unrightfully occupied.”
“-the infinite torments which your soul shall-”
“End this transmission.”
Druuthn shook his head. It was too much to expect them to talk of surrender so soon.
The automated defenses of the spaceport could not do much against the united fleets. It took only a day for the confederates to turn the entire structure into a burnt wreck.
If nothing else, that was already a great victory for the Righteous Compact, thought Druuthn: it likely had taken decades for the sheelikoi to build such a structure. With all the other production lines that they had halted, the Slither’s Fang would have certainly had a much harder time to replenish lost ships now.
With the orbital defenses destroyed, the fleets were free to impose a blockade around the planet; then, it would have been the sheelikoi’s turn to suffer the atrocities of war. Yet, as the warships descended in the lower orbit, Druuthn’s conscience forced him to search for a second time contact with the local government.
“Forward this message to the same channel we were in contact before: the forces of the Righteous Compact, which I represent, have blockaded Xanaslisk, your home planet. We are ready to discuss the surrender of the First Slither and lay the foundations for a subsequent peace. Failure to contact us before our fleet has taken position will result in the bombing of Xanaslisk. We urge you to-”
-You…- The whisper reached Druuthn so suddenly that it caused him to shiver. –You are the one they call Beak of Ivory. I had foreseen your coming.-
“What?” The ikaanan instinctively looked around, clenching the arms of his chair.
-There is no need to use the crude sound.-
“It is in my mind!” the ikaanan quickly whispered to his lieutenant, trying to keep calm. “Be careful. Beging the bombardment.”
-It is of no use.- continued the hissing voice in his head. –Each and every blasphemous act of yours shall be punished tenfold. The mortal does not stand before the divine.-
-The divine has fallen!- Finally managed to think Druuthn. –You will never win. The more atrocities you commit, the more free people will unite against you. The road you’ve picked can only lead to your inevitable destruction. We can still end this in peace. Surrender.-
-It is you the one who will be begging for mercy soon. You should have not meddled with us, ikaanan. The uri have fallen, your kin shall be next.-
The first explosions lightened the surface of the planet, enveloping the forests and cities, visible from orbit.
-Think of your people! Do you wish to be the cause of their suffering? Their death?-
-Sheelikor will always survive as long as there will be preys to hunt such as you. To bow to our lesser, to subvert the natural order of things? That would be a much greater blasphemy.-
-Your fanaticism blinds you. You are *not* gods! You won’t survive this. You have the opportunity to give your subjects another chance to be free and live together with the rest of the free people.-
-No.-
The ikaanan could feel the hatred, the unending spite resonating from the First Slither’s mind. It took him a while to realize that his lieutenant was shouting and shaking him.
“Admiral! Admiral!..”
-Despair now.-
“What?” said Druuthn, still confused by the psionic conversation. “What is it?”
“The Fang is here!”
The admiral had barely the time to realize what was happening, that a thousand shrieks pierced through his and his crew’s mind, blinding and deafening them.
*****************
“There! FX-144, I see an opening! Send another squadron, focus the main cannons!” shouted Druuthn, laying on his chair.
The psionic attack had been devastating. It only stopped when they left the lower orbit of Xanaslisk. Luckily, the jhoolian fleet, not affected by the psions, managed to offer them cover against the incoming enemy ships until they had been able to retake control enough to defend themselves. The jhoolians’ actions saved the rest of the confederate fleets, but forced them in an extremely disadvantageous position. With the hyperlane exit route blocked by the Slither’s Fang and the rest of the fleets behind them, the jhoolian were smitten by the full power of the sheelikean fleet, which, in a few days from the start of the battle, costed the life of admiral Plyytrh and his flagship.
It had been seven months since the start of that battle. It was the greatest and longest confrontation in the Righteous Compact’s entire history. Never before two fleets of such sizes had met together.
The confederate fleets had numbers on their side, better weapons and variety: dozens of brilliant military minds from everywhere in the Righteous Compact, all working together against the monolithic tyranny of the sheelikoi.
The sleek sheelikean warships were slower and more resilient, their hulls regenerating themselves after any strike, but their attack patters were crude. In the past, they had always relied on overwhelming power to shock and crush their opponents; against a superior foe, they could only hold their ground and cut off their enemies’ escape.
That was their main concern, Druuthn was certain of it. Every time he had ordered some maneuver to give the idea of a possible imminent retreat, the sheelikoi had immediately rearranged the Fang to counteract it. Yet, being aware of that fact just made the ikaanan admiral more tempted to attempt a real escape.
It was clear that the Slithers had grown tired of the confederate fleets destroying their colonies: the Fang would have risked heavy losses just to prevent their escape, because the Slithers knew that their warships were not as fast as the Compact’s. Now that they knew where Xanaslisk was, they could no longer have all their warships on the offense, and dividing their forces meant losing one of their main advantages. They needed to destroy the coalition’s fleets to be able to continue their campaign in the Consciousness and beyond.
Druuthn was torn on the matter. If they had found a good strategy to outsmart the Fang, the battle could have easily turned to their favor. More importantly, the more time they kept the Fang stuck there, the more time the Uri Consciousness had to rebuild its government and retake control of the occupied planets. All of the Compact’s governments had not been directly touched by the war yet, their naval production lines were still intact, while the Hypercoil’s had been mostly destroyed. If only they could manage to inflict enough losses on them, they could permanently cripple the Fang.
The Sheelikoi's home world has been found! ...and it's apparently a horrible idea to try and attack it, considering how powerful the First Slither's psionic abilities. Serves as an excellent shield for you.
The Slither's fang was about 26k, right?
I can see how this would be a close fight.
I can see how this would be a close fight.
Yes, it was still more or less that, which was slightly less than the total of the coalitions' forces.
THE GREAT COALITION WAR IV (2362 – 2370)
The Fang and the Whip
-Your time has come, Beak of Ivory.-
-You again, tyrant?- thought the ikaanan, this time trying not to lose concentration on what was happening on the screen.
-I am no tyrant,- continued the voice in his mind. –I am your opponent, High Farseer of the Slither’s Fang, Zacadliss. You were sneaky, but I know where you are now, Beak of Ivory. Your meddling has come to its end.-
As the voice continued, Druuthn realized that one of the massive enemy battleships had just abandoned formation, moving towards his flagship.
“Concentrate fire on XZ-287, now!” shouted the ikaanan. –This will serve you nothing.-
“We’re in psionic range! Increase our distance!”
The barrage fire from the sheelikean fleet increased, a half a dozen enemy corvettes jumped forward to cover the advance of the battleship, whose cannons started to focus their fire entirely on the confederate flagship.
“Continue!..” shouted Druuthn, trying to not let his pain and frustration transpire from his voice. “Faster!”
The many sleepless nights and the prolonged stress had greatly weakened him, just as much as the seven months-long battle had damaged his ship. They needed to gain distance immediately, avoid the psychic assault at all costs.
The enemy ship continued to advance; its hull had been ripped open countless times, but each of its wounds had slowly started to close right after having been opened.
“Shields failing, sir!”
The hissing in the ikaanan’s mind increased, making him unable to react. A bright green beam of energy passed through the screen, followed by a series of screams and explosions.
*****************
The destruction of the confederate flagship was a disaster for the forces of the coalition: that final blow to the soldiers’ morale after the unending battle, which had been going on for half a year then, caused several attempts at insubordination, which in turn resulted in more losses for the allies. By the time the junta was able to agree on a successor to Druuthn, Admiral Sier’Uni, the fleets were still holding their ground, but the tide had definitely turned on the Slithers’ advantage.
Sier’Uni, an uri of ikaanan origin, knew that, and did not lose time to make his position clear right after his appointment.
“We might still be able to hold off the Fang for a month or two, but at what cost? We must accept the possibility that, under the prolonged stress of his charge, Admiral Druuthn had lost touch with our main goal. We were able to do a lot of damage to the Hypercoil when we were avoiding the Fang and destroying the Slither’s production lines. The left arm of the Hypercoil has still been left mostly untouched. I propose to attempt an escape from this blasted system and continue our work there.”
“Druuthn believed that holding off the Fang here was the best course of action.” Stated Admiral Lyupl, twisting his boneless arm. “Now that we know where their home planet is-”
“They will be forced to split their forces.” Interrupted him Sier’Uni. “Which we will easily defeat. It serves no purpose for us to continue this losing battle.”
“To try and break the standoff…” warned Humiigol, the successor of Admiral Plyytrh. “…it may cost us many ships. The Fang holds the exit routes.”
“It is a risk we must take. Better than a slow death at the hands of the Fang.”
*****************
Zacadliss peaked from the ornate curtain of his litter as he was being carried by a host of slaves towards the main entrance of the First Slither’s Great Temple of Xanaslisk. The batches of slaves from V’Vidir had been called immediately to repair the damage made by Beak of Ivory’s fleet, but the scars of the ignominious attack could still be seen. Without a doubt the First Slither had called him down to make him see the destruction, to prepare him for what he would have told him once in the temple.
Almost all the Princes had been called in a hurry. There was no time to lose, as the war was still going on, yet the First Slither insisted for as many as possible to be there in person.
It had been years since so many Slithers had been reunited in the same place. After their announcers had given the proper introductions and all the titles had been listed, the First Slither rose from his seat, looking at the High Farseer.
-Time is short, High Farseer Zacadliss.- He said. -Therefore I shall ask that all the esteemed Great and Wise Princes reunited today be quick in their argumentations. …The position of our most holy temple has been revealed to the prey. Such a thing was not meant to be.-
-The prey paid dearly for its blasphemy.- Responded Zacadliss. -Its great leader has been defeated, many of them died to cowardly escape from our ultimate victory. Now I can foresee it shatter soon, for the minds of their soldiers are filled with fear and desperation. I’ve heard their thoughts, many have realized what folly it was for them to raise their arms against holy Xanaslisk.-
-This may be, yet we foresee that the efforts of sheelikoi will not keep at bay our enemies again, were they to attack a second time our holiest. The Wise Prince Cathiox has graciously provided us with his fleets in order to defend the integrity of our holy temple. I shall baptize these warships as the Slither’s Whip. Never again must we allow the weaklings to threaten our glory.-
At the proclamation of the First Slither, Zacadliss moved his gaze to Zeraxim. Surely, the general had influenced Xirleekan’s judgement, using the recent attack to better present his outlandish idea of a second separate fleet.
-Yet, o First Slither- started the High Farseer. –Would these ships not be better put to use by punishing the fleeing prey? As we established at the start of this glorious hunt: to allow the prey to force us on the defense, in an unnaturally submissive position, would that not be a greater failing?-
-You speak with the wise words of Prince Cathiox, but I shan’t undo what I have made.- answered coldly the First Slither. It was clear to Zacadliss that, at least partially, his opposition to the High Farseer was the consequence of his failure to prevent the arrival of the enemy fleet in the home system altogether.
-Yet…- continued the High Farseer, quickly thinking of another way to solve the matter in his favor. -...I do not ask to unmake the new fleet, First Slither Xirleekan. In fact, I foresee its use shall be instrumental to the final destruction of our hated enemies...-
*****************
Five years had passed since the battle at Xanaslisk, since Sier’Uni had taken command of the confederate fleets. As hoped by everyone, the attack on the sheelikean homeworld had halted entirely their enemies’ offense. Unfortunately, the moment the confederate fleets had managed to return closer to allied sectors and to re-establish a contact with the Righteous Compact, the Uri Consciousness had demanded that the fleets took care of removing the last remnants of the Slither’s occupation in their sectors, before focusing on the Hypercoil’s left arm: V’Vidir.
Sier’Uni was not certain of the strategic advantage of that choice, but he felt sympathy for his people and decided to support the motion. Returning into allied space was also a good opportunity to refresh the crews, whose majority of members had been both physically and psychologically strained beyond limit by the prolonged campaign in sheelikean space.
In a few years, they had recovered almost half of the forces lost at Xanaslisk, and freed several occupied Uri planets, with little to no opposition from the sheelikoi. Sier’Uni was starting to believe that the mere threat to their homeworld had scared their enemies so much as to make them lose any willingness to send the Fang into another campaign. Many did not see it the same way: the shock of the destruction of Ur Idra had left a permanent scar in the Uri Consciousness, and the death toll paid up to that point was unthinkable to both Sovereign Havoll Suns and Ikaanan Mandate. Before that wretched war had started, most analysts were sure it would have not lasted more than a few years: once the first assault from the sheelikoi had been stood up to and the infallibility of their leaders put to question, the strategists had been fairly certain that the Hypercoil would have collapsed from the inside, due to liberation movements taking root amongst the slaves.
In those final years the Compact had retaken the advantage, despite the loss of ships at Xanaslisk, but the strain put on economy and society by that unending war, which required constant and extensive support by all the governments of the federation, had severely weakened the members of the Compact.
Sadly, Sier’Uni’s optimistic view was also torn apart when the new fleet of the Uri Consciousness suddenly disappeared on its way to join the confederate fleets in the Zempek system. Sier’Uni put his forces in motion to investigate, but they made it only halfway to their destination before finding the probable culprit in the Enim system: a new sheelikean fleet.
“See?” said triumphantly the uri, looking at the screen. “They are so scared they sent only a few ships!”
“Its size is comparable to that of the missing uri fleet.” Added Humiigol. “Perhaps it has lost units during the fight.”
“Regardless of the reason, we must take advantage of this situation. We have overwhelming superiority.”
“It could be a trap.” Said Lyupl, cautiously. “It won’t be the first time. Why would the sheelikoi send such a meager fleet?”
“Because they’re scared. They’re keeping most of the Fang at Xanaslisk, to protect it from other attacks, isn’t it obvious? All fleets forward, engage. Don’t allow them to escape.”
The navigators obeyed and, within a day, the two fleets clashed. The sheelikoi remained compact and held their ground, as usual, but this time they were in crippling minority.
“Get closer, flank on the 33° and press forward.” Shouted Sier’Uni.
“Sir” warned him the lieutenant, “we cannot risk getting within range of their psions.”
“Of course.” The uri shook his head. “Belay the last order.”
The uri eagerly watched as the first enemy ships exploded, overcome by their blows. That would have been the first definitive victory against a sheelikean fleet. Unlike all of the previous blockades, the drawn out confrontations and the sabotages, that one might have only had a relatively small strategic advantage, but, unlike all of those other operations, this was exactly what the soldiers and the people of the Compact needed to boost their morale: one certain and undeniable victory on the sidereal field.
Weeks passed; the victory of the confederates might have been certain, but that did not stop the sheelikoi from stubbornly resisting to their very last ship. At first, Sier’Uni had feared that they would have attempted an escape and robbed them of their victory, that’s why he had ordered the allied fleets to corner them and destroy the illegal wormhole station planted by the enemies in the system. Yet, the sheelikean fleet had not even made an attempt at fleeing, no matter its growing losses.
The corvettes had almost entirely been disabled. Without their cover, the cruisers would have been unable to withstand concentrated fire for too long still. It was almost done.
“Sir!” shouted one of the operators. “I’m picking something.. it’s from Erim VIII, it’s.. it’s...”
“No...” Sier’Uni widened his eyes in surprise and disbelief. A massive fleet had just left the cover of the gas giant and was quickly moving to their rear flank. “The Fang... The Fang! Quick! Prepare for hyperjump!”
“Sir, we can’t! The enemy wreckage..! It’s on the closest exit lane. Only half of the hiffnar fleet has a clear path...”
“No.. no no no no!..” The uri jumped off from his seat, clenching his fists. “Alert all the fleets! Prepare for repositioning, we must defend our rear flank, compact the formation!”
He looked with pure hatred at the incoming vessels, cutting off their only other escape route.
“How?! How is it possible!?! They are insane! How can they leave their homeplanet unguarded, it’s absurd!”
*****************
At each day, the Slither’s Fang moved closer. The first blows were exchanged, but the fleet still kept closing in, until the allied forces were squashed between the might of the Hypercoil and the wreckages of the Slither’s Whip.
The battle of Enim was almost as long as the battle over Xanaslisk, but this time Zacadliss was the undisputed winner. The coalition forces were caught off guard and prevented from escaping; though the Fang suffered several losses, the enemy fleets were completely obliterated this time. The few enemy soldiers who were allowed to escape had their mind twisted and their body broken, so that the story of their defeat could have spread further panic and desperation amongst their people.
The Slither’s Whip had suffered an untimely demise, but for Zacadliss that was far from a negative outcome. Even if the First Slither decided to rebuild it, more warships, which were currently under construction, would have automatically defaulted to the Fang in the meantime. Furthermore, his strategy to only faint cowardice and pretend to send just the Whip as an invading force had worked in obtaining a quick and decisive victory against their enemies. With that show of brilliance, the High Farseer was certain to have restored his high standing amongst the other Princes after the embarrassing events of Xanaslisk.
-Nothing stands in our way now, brethren of Sheelikor.- The triumphant thoughts of the High Farseer resonated in the crewmembers’ minds with anticipation. –Forward!-
For the next two years, High Farseer Zacadliss undid all of the progress made by Sier’Uni’s united fleets, scourging the Uri Consciousness left and right and bringing its newly formed provisional government to its knees. In the meantime, an endlessly working construction team had fortified the entire new border with the Uri Consciousness, building dozens of outposts and fortresses to progressively reduce the possibility of another attack against the inner sector.
To Zacadliss’s immense delight, High Tecnarch Rekaxir developed a new and updated wormhole matrix at the fall of the second year from the High Farseer’s great victory, which would have allowed them an even greater mobility, thus further quelling the First Slither’s concerns for the safety of Xanaslisk.
Once more had their reach increased. Now it enveloped the worlds of the ikaanan and their other despicable allies: now their true invasion could truly begin.
Sacrificing the Whip so the Fang can strike with the element of surprise and devour the enemies... Sounds like a solid tactic for an empire that's fine with sending citizens to their deaths. Not very surprising for the Sheelikoi.
Eh, in this case it wasn't about sacrificing in general, it was a question of internal squabbling...
THE GREAT COALITION WAR V (2370 – 2373)
A New Compact
Zacadliss remained still behind the silken curtains dividing him from the communication camera connected with the commander of the new, pathetic fleet of the Uri Consciousness, so as to show only a distorted shadow of himself.
“Thus crawls the prey, wailing for the attention of its betters.” Said the High Farseer, letting the software translate his hisses.
“I.. my name is Duo Lamàr, representative of the Uri Consciousness. I am relieved the Hypercoil has accepted this message.”
The sheelikor looked at the uri on the screen. In all those years dealing with them, he had acquired some basic knowledge of their repugnant facial expressions. He was somewhat interested and amused by the diplomatic embassy sent to Jillis to make contact with the Fang. It might have been a distraction of some sort, but he could allow himself a few hours of distraction without jeopardizing the campaign after his recent crushing victory.
“Speak, mortal.”
“We hope...” the uri appeared uneasy in his conciliatory words. “..that.. that a peaceful solution might be found to.. all of this. The Uri Consciousness is ready to recognize your sovereignty over the former Consortium of Enim, the former Confederated Quvarian Planets and the Lythirin system, previously under the control of the Uri Consciousness. We are ready to give up to any rights upon these systems and allow the Hypercoil to keep hold of Asterion and Zempek, which have been occupied during this war. We only ask for the Hypercoil to retire his fleets and armies from the rest of our space and agree to a period of peace. Let us put an end to this senseless massacre, for the good of all our people.”
Zacadliss observed carefully the diplomat on the screen, rasping his teeth in anticipation.
“Why?” said the High Farseer. “The mortal shows his weakness and his unwillingness to fight. There is nothing to concede, the divine takes what he wants, and what he wants is not within the boundaries of the mortal. Puny creature, your kind is no longer of interest to us. We will no longer admit less than the ikaanan’s highest representatives to our presence. Be gone now. And know that, for you have not prostrated yourself at my presence, a million uri will suffer tonight on Soll’Gavance.”
“No! Wait!”
The High Farseer gestured for the call to be interrupted and the curtain removed.
-The resolve of our enemies has been crushed, as I had foreseen.- he searched for the Great Conqueror’s mind. –Soon this hunt will come to its natural end.-
-So it shall be.- Confirmed Zeraxim.
*****************
As the High Farseer had planned to do years before, the Slither’s Fang finally left the Uri Consciousness, moving to the Odlamon system to destroy the broken remains of the United Hiffnar Worlds. The fleet of the bovines had long been destroyed and the orbital defenses of Diona’s Diamond could do little against the might of the Fang.
The planet itself was a greater obstacle to general Zeraxim’s troops: it was cold and inhospitable for the sheelikoi, covered in ice and steel. The hiffnar themselves, only rarely met before, were a particularly obscene species in the eyes of the conquerors, with their warm bodies, covered in fur and fat. Unlike the uri, they did not have neural implants and were quite eager to fight, which surprised the Great Conqueror at first.
In the end, their forces, albeit resilient, were all the same unable to oppose any meaningful resistance against the psionic and biological superiority of the invaders. For the following two years, Zeraxim was allowed to study all the kinds of pain and fear that the hiffnar people were capable of experiencing, while Zacadliss continued to raze the nearby systems, not rarely moving towards the ikaanan space to show the leaders of the coalition the reach of the Hypercoil.
It was only then, when the High Farseer was satisfied with the terror inflicted upon his enemies, when he was certain to have given them the idea that the Hypercoil could have been able to continue its campaign forever, only then he decided to declare the war over. There was no diplomatic meeting, nor immediate message. The Fang retired to those that the First Slither had determined to be the new borders of the Hypercoil, and finally Zacadliss sent a declaration of enforced peace upon the Righteous Compact.
After nearly twenty years of endless fighting, the Great Coalition War was over. It had destroyed the military apparatus of many of the allied forces, but the Uri were the ones to suffer the most: their fleets destroyed, their core worlds and homeland lost, their government crippled, the Consciousness had been taught a lesson it would have hardly forgotten.
*****************
Carclak moved back and forth beside the uri’s hologram.
“The people are not of a single mind on the matter.” Said the bessadon, while countless messages from the citizens of the Star Hive scrolled beneath his eyes.
“I understand, my family lived in the Consciousness.” Answered the Compact’s representative. “But you must accept the reality of the situation.”
“We do.” Carclak sighed. The whole meeting was being sent live to every bessadon citizen, many of which were in turn messaging to him, to give him their opinion on what the correct course of action would have been, filling polls and writing comments.
“You do realize,” he said to the uri. “that, if we agree on these terms, it might encourage them to target us in the next war.”
At their side, a wide holographic map of the lower Galaxy was slowly rotating, showing the last claims of the Hypercoil and its supposed borders.
“What other choice do you have?” asked the uri. “We must stand united or fall alone.”
“That did not work really well for you.”
“Many of the Compact sacrificed their lives or their future in this war. Though we have lost five systems to the Hypercoil and our very homeworld, we’ve also gained valuable intel on its inner workings and astrography.”
“Which.. you’ll be willing to share.”
“Of course.”
“Hm.”
It was not an easy decision for the people, so Carclak retired for a few hours to better interpret the global debate taking place through the Star Hive. Finally, the bessadon rejoined the uri representative.
“We’ve reached a consensus.”
The Great Coalition War ends with the Sheeliokoi as the clear victor. So many more resources and slaves available for the Hypercoil. The obvious downside is that the Bessadons, who were as close as you had to allies, have know joined in the Righteous Compact to stand against you. It didn't work last time, so I won't be surprised to see them fail again against their superiors.
Eh, we'll see, the Bessadon Star Hive is no small empire.
This was such a long war. Actually, for most of the time, I was around -20% of warscore, Druuthn's fleet destroyed a lot of spaceports and occupied several planets. The battle over Xanaslisk was the turning point and it was a very close call.
The main advantage of the sheelikoi was that their mineral production rates allowed them to replenish the fleets no matter the losses. Even with half of the spaceports destroyed by Beak of Ivory, the rest were still able to rebuild the Fang and the Whip before the coalition members could rebuild their fleets after Xanaslisk.
This was such a long war. Actually, for most of the time, I was around -20% of warscore, Druuthn's fleet destroyed a lot of spaceports and occupied several planets. The battle over Xanaslisk was the turning point and it was a very close call.
The main advantage of the sheelikoi was that their mineral production rates allowed them to replenish the fleets no matter the losses. Even with half of the spaceports destroyed by Beak of Ivory, the rest were still able to rebuild the Fang and the Whip before the coalition members could rebuild their fleets after Xanaslisk.
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No. Neoxanàn, the first colony, has diverged from its ethical roots naturally, as it was stated in the First Scenario, but Xanaslisk is firmly under a fanatic xenophobic majority.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
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Fantastic set of updates. Does the Star Hive have enough strength to make up for the Compact's losses during the war?
Thanks. Eh, we'll see...
SECOND SCENARIO (2375 – 2377)
Rebuilding the Great Temple
The great victory over the allied preys was meant to bring much delectation and satisfaction to the old Slithers, but, as they reunited once more in the great temple of Xanaslisk, there was a palpable sense of restlessness amongst the holy covenant.
As usual, they all started with the formal rites of titles and honorifics, but, while the speaker was listing them, some telepathic impulses were already reaching out for one Prince or the other; in the meantime, their bodies consumed the sacrificial offering, another uri, fresh from the newly conquered worlds.
-High Farseer Zacadliss has interrupted the attack prematurely. We should have not yielded until all of the Uri Consciousness was no more.- Said Prince Rezicax.
-No Sheelikor has yielded.- Answered the admiral. –The weak uri have been broken, the bessadon can only take their place. Your worries are unbecoming of your divinity.-
-So is your lack of foresight.- Hissed Rezicax. –The uri populations in our new worlds are either broken in bodies or not at all. Those that were maimed by the butcherers of the Great Conqueror are useless slaves, those that were not are hateful ones.-
-It may be...- Started Prince Zax. –That our reliance on mind-enforcement has led us to forsake the true way of educating the prey to follow and fear our whip. The natural instinct in older subdued generations is such, while newer prizes are restless.-
At that assertion the High Tecnarch Zoz was quick to interject: -How could it be that our ascension caused a regression in our divine capacities? The thought itself is contradictory. We need only to go forward, higher! -...There are new ways that my colleagues and I have researched to increase our divine hold, First Slither.-
-I must say,- started the Wise Prince Cathiox. –that, though I am not entirely in agreement with the Great Prince Rezicax’s idea. My thoughts resonate entirely against the proposal of the High Tecnarch, o First Slither. What he is about to will negates our innate superiority. It should not be conceived.-
-It is but the next step in our ascension, to facilitate the integration of new prey.- Continued the High Tecnarch. -An addition to make our orbital stations more fit to manage their respective worlds. This device will focus the psychic energies of a Slither and push them unto the entire population with ease, reshaping their minds in the way that is most productive and appropriate for them to be.-
-How- asked the High Tecnarch. –How would this be different from the actions of the Great Conqueror’s warriors, if not for its increased effectiveness?-
-The psychic assault breaks the soul, like the coils crush the limbs,- answered Cathiox. –What is left is broken and in pain. The will of the divine has rightfully scourged a prey, as it should be. Yet, with this invention that you speak of, there is no real suffering, it is but projected into the mind of the slave.-
-How does it differ? It is still inflicted by a divine Slither. We can have pain without wound, dread without hate. We would not need to mangle the slaves to cause a crushing hopelessness, which in turn would leave their bodies intact, thus making them more productive.-
-It would be an illusion. The moment the divine stops thinking, the prey stops feeling his terror.-
-Isn’t that what nature demands? The thought of the divine SHAPES the reality of the prey.-
The other Great Princes started to join in the psychic conversation, thinking over each other, supporting either the Wise Prince, the High Tecnarch or neither. Finally, the First Slither decided to join in as well to put an end to the issue.
-I shall bring order and direction to this holy covenant.- He said. –In truth, our genetic destiny has not yet manifested our next form. Our enemies grow faster still, we cannot allow the natural order to be subverted, that would be a greater blasphemy. High Tecnarch Zoz, you are given leave to proceed with the implementation of this new technology.-
-O First Slither- called Great Prince Zax. –Perhaps this technology could be put to use on other of our worlds as well. Through it, the deviant schools of thought on Neoxanàn might be persuaded to return to the enlightened path, for the benefit of all of us.-
-No, such a decision would be abominable. The divine cannot be treated as the prey.-
-Of course not.- Zaxwas quickly to add. –My thought might have not been as clear as I believed to have formulated it: how would this be different from our current dialectics? We employ our will to give substance to ideas and let them resonate in our peers’ minds, so that they may be enlightened. Stronger and older predators impose their will on the weaker ones, as it is natural.-
-By nature, yes.- answered coldly the First Slither. –But this is not nature, yet. It is but a technology. When all of the Sheelikor will have increased their reach to such a magnitude, then it shall be good and excellent for them to quarrel against each other with their increased powers.-
-I will resonate in concord with your will, o First Slither.- answered the High Tecnarch, finally capitulating.
-I beseech the holy covenant,- intervened Prince Rezicax. –though these contraptions shall help in our divine charge, we propose further training for our hunters. The Great Conqueror has fought well against the enemies of Sheelikor, but we still believe their skills in subjugating the captured prey are in dire need of refinement. Perhaps the philosophers of the Wise Prince’s school might be of help in such matters?-
-It shall be so, o Great Prince. My scholars shall teach them the subtlety of control and subservience.- Said Cathiox; since the Great Conqueror nodded in agreement as well, the First Slither decided to not intervene at all on that matter, maintaining his attention on the High Tecnarchs.
-I am discontent.- he said, leaning towards the reunited scientists. –The metaphysical value of this contraption is meager, o High Tecnarchs. How are we to continue our ascension when even our preys can create things of wonder that escape our understanding? How can a prey create mysteries? How do you solve this query?-
The three scientists quickly and silently exchanged a few opinions amongst themselves, before Zoz linked back with the First Slither.
-Great and Endless Prince, little remains of the mysteries of our worlds. The new conquests against the weak uri grant us only trinkets of no real meaning. We foresee that the greatest mysteries are beneath the Avarrian arm. Our fleet and our warriors have grown after the recent war; we foresee that they shall be enough to cleanse the decadent guardians protecting the secrets in the abyss. Then, High Tecnarch Cabroxi will surely uncover them, and we shall use their meaning for the betterment of Sheelikor. We foresee that their unveiling shall unlock the greater destiny of our divine nature and lead us to the next ascension.-
At those words, a few of the reunited Slithers hissed in doubt and anticipation.
-The treacherous bessadon have joined our ikaanan enemies. The avarrian guardians are terrible foes. Why risk a war on two fronts?- Asked Zeraxim. –Would it not be better to attack the bessadon first, to punish their insolence?-
-I foresee another long war.- Said Zacadliss. –If we attack the bessadon, the other preys will come to help them, their conjoined forces could hold the Fang long enough to allow the uri to rebuild their spirit and their forces.-
-I am in agreement with the High Farseer.- State the Wise Prince Cathiox. –Though on the short term it might seem more natural and excellent to punish the bessadon, their nature is deceitful. Our greater destiny takes precedence over the pettiness of the prey. Once we have unveiled the mysteries of the Avarran treasures, I foresee that all our preys shall fall beneath us.-
This time the First Slither allowed the other Great Princes to discuss the matter for a while before intervening.
-I find my thoughts resonating in agreement with the High Farseer and the Wise Prince. The guardians of Avarria have stood against us alone and in the darkness. They have robbed us of the highest mysteries and scorned our divine nature. Their insult is their very existence within our territory, and it is far older than that of the bessadon. Thus we shall proceed in order, punishing the oldest slight before the newer.-
-So it shall be.-
