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So the Sheelikoi are aware their tech is inferior. At least they're not that arrogant. As for fighting a Fallen Empire... that'll be interesting. Given how superior most Fallen Empire's view themselves, I do like the idea of their horror over being made slaves.
The Sheelikoi's refusal to consider any other alien empire, even that of the Fallen Empire, as being a predator like themselves may come back to bite them on their scaly behinds. Beware the precursors!
Yep.
We shall see. The problem is, the devide in technology is still there and growing, despite the victories in war against the Compact.
Yes, they need to rationalize through their dogma, we'll see...
I'm curious the Sheelikoi exist on so few worlds compared to their slaves. Drew a really bad card with colonization, I guess?
Part of it is also roleplaying, the sheelikoi do not believe it's appropriate for them to be numerous compared to the preys, which is why they need new slaves to sustain a growing population.
On the other hand, it is also a combination of few tropical worlds in the area and refusal to research alternative colonization research until recently (which still, is not used for sheelikoi).
THE WAR OF THE ANCIENTS (2377 – 2379)
Zaktic’s skies were torn open when the mutagenic armies of the Avarrians descended upon the planet, one of the many forces of invasion sent into Hypercoil space to quickly batter their opponents into submission. Unfortunately, like many an invader, they were soon to find out the world was filled only with slaves and automated defenses, like many other planets in sheelikean space.
*****************
-More!- shouted Zacadliss, wrapped around the top of his command post. –Protect the flagship! Protect the greater future of our kind!-
Hundreds of ships had assembled in the Beacon of Infinity to lay siege upon the great outpost of the ancients. The sheelikoi had given their ultimatum of complete surrender right before attacking, only to follow the old rites, knowing full well that the guardians would have not bowed down to their requests. The Fang had caught the bulk of the enemy fleet unaware, while it was moving out of the system. The guardians had probably thought to make short work of their invaders, relying on a huge army and the advantage of their technology to quickly assault the Hypercoil’s heart, but the High Farseer’s quick action had divided their armies from the fleet, pinning the ancients’ warships right outside their star-ring.
The advance of the armies in the nearby systems was unfortunate, but a small price to pay. It would have taken them many years and losses before reaching the core planets and, by that time, Zacadliss had no doubt the automated defenses would have been enough to completely destroy the mutagenic forces of the guardians.
For the campaign, the First Slither had ordered the construction of a new Slither’s Whip, but Zacadliss did not oppose the decision, knowing that both fleets would have remained under his full control and be employed against the same targets for the war.
The restless work of countless slaves had made possible for the Fang to nearly double its size compared to the strength it had at the end of the Great Coalition War. Every production line on every planet of the Hypercoil was working incessantly even then to produce an endless supply of reinforcements.
The fight against the avarrian ancients was proving to be a long one, like the orbital battle over Xanaslisk, but unlike the onslaught of the Coalition, it was also a much bloodier one for the sheelikoi: the lightning weapons of the guardians were easily cutting through the defenses of the Fang’s ships, vaporizing their hulls faster than they could repair themselves.
-There is no retreat. There is no fear. Only the light, stolen by the ancients! Fight the pitiful and decadent guardians, let our mighty civilization be reborn from their mysteries!-
*****************
“You were barely willing to join this Coalition…” started the ikaanan representative. “...now you ask this?”
Carclak clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Once consensus is reached, there’s no need for indecisiveness. The Star Hive does not deal in half measures. This is our chance.”
Only a few days before the Uri Consciousness spy network had been able to decode some military transmissions coming from the Hypercoil that had led the Compact to believe another war had been declared by the sheelikoi, against an unknown enemy.
“We’re not ready to fight them so soon.” Protested the Uri ambassador.
“The Consciousness is not, but we are.” Said the bessadon. “It is our time. We know of war more than any of your governments. You’ve asked for our help in destroying the Hypercoil, that’s how one does it.”
“Perhaps, if we just waited for a few years...”
“No. The more we wait, the more time they have to finish whatever they are doing and refill their losses. Did you not learn anything? Never wait. Their slaves build faster and cheaper than our workers combined, we must attack now, when they don’t expect it. It doesn’t matter if we aren’t as strong now. We need to have them be surrounded by enemies at all time, for as long as possible. Only then we can break their economy.”
*****************
Xirleekan was steaming with outrage. He had just received the declaration of war from the Righteous Compact, this time led by the bessadons. The message had come not too long after the last report on the avarrian campaign, which appeared to be still in a stalemate.
-The pathetic forces of the ikaanan and the treacherous bessadon and all the others will crawl up again, trying to take our spoils, yes. But the plan cannot be stopped. The Ancients must fall. With their secrets and their mysteries, all the Slithers will ascend. Yes, we shall proceed as it was foreseen.-
*****************
“Two years!?!” The Avarrian Old Tecnocrat shouted. “Two years!?!”
The commanders, reunited in the great hall looked down, with the shame clearly visible on their faces.
“The Avarrian Ascendancy has existed from the beginning of times!! You incompetent idiots will have it fall within two years!?!”
The great overview behind the scientist showed the fight currently happening in the Ring’s orbit, where the Hypercoil’s forces had surrounded one of the last orbiting defense platforms and were in the process of dismantling it.
“Never, in our millennia-old government, an enemy dared to open fire upon this sanctuary! And you’ve allowed primitives with not even the common sense to cover their genitals to destroy our great fleet!”
The Tecnocrat waved his hand to establish a channel with the ground commanders, dismissing the navy ones with the other.
“These troglodytes will not make a mockery of us, our armies must stop their advance.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Old Tecnocrat closed the channel and started to walk back and forth below the great window.
The entire system had been transformed into a graveyard. The avarrian fleet had destroyed twice as many ships as it had lost, if not more, but the primitives kept on swarming them, again and again, a new fleet warping into the sector every other week, until the defense forces could hold them no more. They had lost contact with their invading armies; the Old Tecnocrat could only hope that his generals had been more successful in the campaign than his admirals. Even then, if they didn’t manage to repel the primitives’ forces in the Beacon of Infinity, their entire civilization would have been doomed. He was certain that the enemies would have targeted the abandoned ring first, the Beacon of Stability, thus giving time to the avarrian fleet to cut its way through the core systems of the sheelikoi; he couldn’t have conceived a direct strike to the seat of the Ascendancy’s power, and even less that they would have managed to wear down their fleet.
*****************
“Proud soldiers of the great Avarrian Ascendancy..!” The general looked down on the lines of commanders and the hosts of soldiers beneath the platform, sprawling through the highways of the star-ring, fitted with heavy armor and high-powered weaponry.
“...the Beacon of Infinity.. has stood as a sanctuary and the ancestral seat of power of our great nation for countless generations..!” his voice was artificially amplified to reach every soldier over the loud bombardments weakening the District’s deflector shield.
“…we have endured, survived any invader, survived the treachery of the machines, guarded our arts, that no primitive species can be trusted in knowing.”
Only a few mutagen troops stood alongside the army’s vanguard. Most of them had been sent off with the invasion forces.
“The monsters that attack us are ignorant and petty creatures, driven by their greed and bloodlust. Every last one of us has sworn to protect the secrets hidden in the Beacon of Infinity. We know that, in the wrong hands, such knowledge will bring only doom to all the lesser beings of this galaxy. Yet, today, we are not fighting just for our ancestral heritage: we are fighting for justice! The senseless and suicidal tactics of these primitives have cost us our pride and many lives of our comrades..!”
The main deflector shield started to fade and some of the automatized alerts went off, tracking the first incoming transports.
“Our peace and our prosperity depend upon our reputation. This stain must be cleaned off and the primitives made an example of our ancient power! Only then, when the dread they feel upon hearing our very name is enough to paralyze them with fear, only then we will be ourselves again!.. Soldiers of the vanguard! Prepare for contact!”
The first psionic attacks started to buzz in the general’s ear, interfered by his bionic helmet. Decoded material from the orbital battle had given the idea the invaders used telepathic warfare to demoralize their opponents, but the only thing that the avarrian could catch now where disconnected and frenzied thoughts.
*****************
-Kill the prey, as you should! Blood! See its blood! See its entrails!-
The Great Conqueror emerged alongside his veteran psions when the main bulk of the sheelikean forces had already engage the avarrians, adding his thoughts in the unhinged flux flowing from the invading army.
-The prey will fall! The prey’s fate is to fall! Fall!-
The telepathic screeches were flowing freely, reaching both enemies and warriors. The battle in the Ring’s orbit had been the most gruesome the sheelikoi had had in their entire history. Thousands of hunters had died, each further upsetting the peace of mind of the remaining ones. There was no coordinated effort to undermine the enemy’s morale, nor a set battle plan: the invading anthropoids swarmed ferociously the avarrians, each trying to prove to himself of his rank as predator by killing and mangling as many opponents as possible.
At first, the lack of strategy allowed the avarrians to hold steady and cause more losses on the sheelikoi’s side, but the constant bombardment from above and the endless new reinforces coming in proved too much to handle for the avarrian defense army, whose soldiers had never seen a real battle in their entire life.
*****************
The occupation of the Beacon of Infinity went on for four months, but, after the first major battle, the avarrians were unable to oppose any real resistance, only slowing down the advance of the sheelikoi through their District.
When Zeraxim broke through the main research center of the Palatial District, dripped in the blood of gene-troops, he found the Old Tecnocrat feverishly working on the central mainframe. The alien shouted something at him, without even turning, but the Great Conqueror just rushed and pounced on him, pinning the Tecnocrat on the ground a carving away his protective band, alongside one of his crests, violently pushing himself in the avarrian’s mind.
-Give me your secrets and mysteries, old one, your time has come!-
The avarrian growled, suffocating under his coils. –You’ll never have our knowledge, it is both beyond your understanding and wisdom to use it.-
-Irrelevant. What the predator takes is his spoils.-
-Your kind is even more primitive than I expected. It is gone, I’ve deleted all.-
-You lie!-
The avarrian felt the grasp of his captor growing, so he bit his poisoned tooth, soon starting to agonize.
Zeraxim growled in frustration as he saw the most prized captive slip away from his coils right at the moment of his greatest victory.
-Your kin,- said the Slither, infusing all of his rancor in every word. -IT shall be the one to pay for your insolence, old one. Know this and.. and...-
The sheelikor stopped, realizing that the avarrian was dead already, and snapped forward, biting his face off and starting to chew on it.
The Bessadons are probably doing the smartest thing they could to strike against you, but I don't know how much damage defeating the Avarrian Ancients did to the Hypercoil. Speaking of, congratulations on defeating a Fallen Empire.
THE SECOND COALITION WAR I (2379 – 2382)
Searching the Light
The people in the Beacon of Stability had barely saw anything of the war until it was over and the occupying forces descended on their old star-ring. Many amongst the avarrians could not yet accept the coming of the sheelikoi, and thus decided to crowd near the first landing point, shouting with indignation at the invaders.
“Primitives!”
The first sheelikoi crawled out of the transports, eagerly looking at the crowd around them.
“Savages!”
“You barbarians!” shouted an avarrian in the first lines. “You cannot even comprehend the insult that-!”
The alien’s complaint turned into incoherent screams as one of the sheelikoi pounced on him, starting to tear him apart. The rest of the warriors attacked shortly after, but, even after the avarrians finally understood the reality and the magnitude of their predicament and started to run, the hunters continued their pursuit, eviscerating one to jump right away unto the next.
-For every hunter who has fallen in this war, let a thousand more preys be slaughtered, to restore the natural order of the universe, thus sayeth Xirleekan!-
Most of the armies of the Great Conqueror had been recalled, as well as the Fang, to continue the war against the new Compact, but some of the warriors had been consumed entirely in the frenzy caused by the heavy losses against the ancients. They had been unable to regain control yet, thus Zeraxim had decided to unleash them upon the Beacon of Stability. There, they would have continued their massacre, until the time whence their thirst for blood would have been quelled and their reason restored.
In the meantime, the Beacon of Infinity had been occupied by a regular garrison until the automated defenses were restored, and the population had been enslaved. High Tecnarch Zoz, alongside some of his colleagues, was immediately sent to the Palatial District, in order to study every single piece of technology of the avarrians, both in orbit and inside the star-ring.
*****************
The First Slither moved restlessly in his meditation room, surrounded by the holographic projections of the Hypercoil’s space sectors. Data of all sorts was attached to every star system, projections of the coalition forces were updated every hour, new information about the conquered avarrian space was required at even shorter pace.
“A victory against the ancient surely has secured our ascension, in time. It is our duty to thrive and persist until such a point...” his hisses echoed in the empty, dark room.
“Our new doors in the abyss have opened tracks to plenty of new worlds, yet to be claimed by anyone. We would see them ours, yet.. the great war machine of Sheelikor cannot stop, how can we thrive, when so much of our labor his wasted in warships, to attack the weaklings of the Compact? Our greater territory demands sharper claws. If the Tecnarchs were able to unveil the mysteries of the Ancients’ warships, our own would cut easily through the forces of the coalition. Our Will commands reality in so many ways already, how is it that we cannot summon lightning from the stars and strike our pitiful enemies?”
Xirleekan left out a low growl, moving his finger to move closer one of the sectors.
“The Bessadon Star Hive. It shall soon know the price for its insolence. Our reach through the abyss is great, we shall defeat their pitiful fleet before it can join with the rest of the coalition, so do I foresee. The Slither’s Whip shall be its punishment. It shall cut deep into its body and tear its heart out. Like the Consciousness, its broken, agonizing remains shall be...”
The First Slither narrowed his eyes. The line of thought demanded to recognize the Uri Consciousness as a gruesome example, one that created such fear of the Hypercoil as to make all nearby preys flee in terror. Yet, how could that be true? The Uri Consciousness had been utterly devastated in the recent war, but the Righteous Compact did not break, its members did not cower in fear of the Slithers, they even made the bessadon join them.
“No matter how wide our abysses are and how plentiful our stars.. the galaxy is wider still. Other large preys roam beyond the treacherous bessadon and the weakly ikaanan. If their deviant minds are akin to those of the preys we know, they shall feel equally compelled to flock towards them, wouldn’t that be so? The greater and tighter the herd we wrestle against would become.. hnnss... Sheelikor must ascend further. We must gain the knowledge of the Ancients to maintain the natural order of the universe. It must be so.”
High Tecnarch Rekaxir had already achieved some minor success in his new research, new ways to refine the biological process of the breeding pools and increase the genetic purity of the sheelikoi, but the results were minimal to the First Slither’s eyes, they did not compare with the betterment achieved with the past psionic ascensions. They needed more.
*****************
-News from the triumphant Whip of the Slither, o High Farseer.- Announced one of the operators in the control room.
-They engaged one of the main fleets of the treacherous bessadon in the Trab System before they could lay siege upon Vi Toram.-
-What about the production line of Vi Toram?- asked Zacadliss.
-It has been destroyed, Zacadliss.-
-Make sure that the world’s overseer begins the construction anew immediately.-
-Yes, High Farseer.-
-All slaves under the coils of the Slithers are united in their service and never-ending work towards our victory. It is thus that it shall be achieved.-
-We are emerging from the abyss.- one of the operators warned, as the Slither’s Fang passed through the wormhole and entered the Raxum system.
-The pitiful forces of the havoll are still on Foll’Sewa’s orbit, High Farseer.-
-For too long have they lingered on the spoils of their passing victory. Proceed to engage, cut any escape path. I foresee this battle to be over within a few weeks and the pitiful havoll to be destroyed. Make my Will so.-
*****************
Admiral Lyupl looked at the screen, making worried clicks with his tongues. As the only First Admiral of the past coalition to survive the previous war, he was chosen to be the leader of the new naval junta of the Righteous Compact; yet, according to the deals struck between Star Hive and Ikaanan Mandate, he had to defer in many cases to the bessadon war analysts, unlike his predecessor Druuthn.
At the beginning of the war, Lyupl had just been somewhat dubious of this choice, giving the bessadons the benefit of the doubt, but, as the fights went on, he had started to feel more and more restless. The coalition forces, attacking from multiple sides, both through the Star Hive and the Consciousness borders, managed to disarm several fortresses and orbital spaceports, but their advance had been stopped only a few years after its start by the sheelikean fleets.
Originally, there were news giving the Slither’s Fang near the Star Hive’s borders, but, in the following months, new intel showed that the fleet in question was not the Fang, but rather a new naval force, which, after defeating the bessadon fleets twice, had started to move deep within their space sectors. The true Fang, led by Slither Zacadliss, appeared to have already reached the Raxum system, where it destroyed one of the minor havoll fleets sent there to sack Foll’Sewa.
Lyupl was forced to recall the other minor fleets of the coalition, under advice from the bessadon, reuniting all at Zempek to lure the enemy into a fight. For one thing, the bessadons’ strategy had forced the Fang to split, which made it an easier opponent to fight, but Lyupl still remained concerned that their current strategy was focused only on victory over the Hypercoil, without much interest for the welfare of the other powers within the Righteous Compact.
The admiral moved his tentacles on the screen to center the astrographic image of the incoming sheelikean fleet. They still matched them in strength, but, unlike in the battle of Xanaslisk, Lyupl had set his fleets in such a way as to always keep a safe route out. They had destroyed several facilities in their first attack, now it was imperative for the coalition to not allow the Fang into allied space for as long as possible. The Hypercoil planets were quick to fall but quick to rebuild, whereas the Consciousness was still recovering from the last war and the Mandate or the Havoll Suns could not suffer that kind of assault and still support the campaign. Lyupl needed to keep the sheelikoi within Hypercoil space and wear them out, that was the only way to win in the long run, something upon which both him and the bessadon agreed.
*****************
High Tecnarch Morezac crawled feverishly from one platform to the other, examining the new reports of the Tecnarchs on the derelicts and the artifacts recovered inside and around the star-ring. From time to time, surges of telepathic waves reached them from outside the Palatial District, where the hunters were quelling the last avarrian rebellion in the bloodiest fashion. It had been a pleasant entertainment for Morezac at first, but now that the years were passing, and the First Slither was growing more and more unsatisfied with the lack of meaningful results, those waves of terror and suffering had become nothing more than an annoying distraction to the High Tecnarch.
-O Great and Wise Tecnarch of the Light. High Tecnarch Cabroxi has found a most intriguing artifact in orbit. Behold!-
Morezac quickly crawled towards his colleague, examining the last finding.
-Is it intact as I suspect?-
-Yes, o Exalted One.-
The Slither gently passed his claws on the surface of the piece of machinery as the slaves finished to unload it on the closest empty platform.
-Finally. The power of the stars is within our grasp, Tecnarchs. Thus, I require that this be our next and only interest. Reset your schedules.-
-Should we reveal the pleasant discovery to High Tecnarch Zoz?-
-Not yet, lest our eagerness be a detriment to our success. The mystery has yet to be uncovered still.-
Purging the ancients... bold decision. I guess if they're too unruly to be slaves, then they aren't needed within the Hypercoil. At least their technology will be useful. Those Tachyon Lances will be very helpful.
We shall see if they can be researched in time, the Hypercoil's resources are spread very thin.
As for the avarrians, only one world ring is being purged, as a reabilitation program from the veterans of the war.
As for the avarrians, only one world ring is being purged, as a reabilitation program from the veterans of the war.
Possibly.
The issue right now is that after the current patch the AI is starting to automatically free all my slaves without permission. Luckly I've enough material for a few chapters still before reaching that point.
The slavery tolerance is also gone for all but xenos, I suppose that could also be a problem for the huge native populations now?
The good news is if you colonize the ring world with your natives, all 4 segments will count as 1 system.
I wouldn't mind about increased unrest or divergence, but the AI constantly freeing all slaves makes it unfeasable and annoying.
THE SECOND COALITION WAR II (2382 – 2384)
The Pilgrimage
-Enough of this.- Stated Admiral Zacadliss, looking at the coalition fleets withdrawing once again, this time only a few days after the start after the engagement.
In the past two years, the havoll and the jhoolians had harassed the Fang at any opportunity, preventing it from moving towards the Mandate. The Whip was slowly moving forward, inside bessadon space, but its progress was not something that the High Farseer was interested in. To better sustain the campaign against the Star Hive, the First Slither had ordered new ships to be integrated in the Whip, which was now growing from an auxiliary unit into its own battlefleet, something that both Zacadliss and Prince Cathiox found unnatural and inappropriate.
-What do you divine, High Farseer?- asked the Great Conqueror Zeraxim.
-To restore balance, a greater disparity must be created first. The treacherous bessadon could barely withstand to the Slither’s Whip. They think themselves smart for luring us into fighting their stronger allies, but their deceit does not account for sheelikean power and viciousness. I shall see the Slither’s Whip recalled here in the Lancord Sector, while we take its place in the heart of the Star Hive.-
-The Whip is not fitted to engage the entirety of the coalition.- objected Zeraxim.
-Indeed. Yet it doesn’t need to. It shall assist our orbital fortresses and slow the coalition. The bessadon are alone, their fleets are broken. They shall fall within a year against the full might of Sheelikor. Then, our reunited forces shall make short work of the weakly preys of havoll and jhoolian.-
*****************
-I am here, as you asked, o First Slither, Immortal Hunter of the Abysses of Light.- the fearful thoughts of Xidlor reached Xirleekan; the First Slither was meditating, as usual, surrounded by astrographic holograms in the dark hall of the great Temple.
He tiringly moved his eyes to look at the Ascendant. Xidlor had grown longer than how Xirleekan remembered him since the last time he called him to his presence, but the Ascendant still remained little less than half of his size.
-Did you hear the divine conversation that I had with the Wise Prince, earlier this morning?- asked Xirleekan, quickly noticing a spike in the Ascendant’s fear. –Your thoughts are apparent, it is unbecoming of a Sheelikor of your age. You are nearing your first century. All the Slithers of this holy covenant had done much more than you’ve accomplished, at your age. You cannot sneak upon your betters without being heard, and you cannot even feign and dissimulate when questioned about it? Where is your Will, Ascendant Xidlor?-
The Ascendant rose on his coils to not show weakness, and tried to sustain the First Slither’s gaze. –It is an arduous task for any predator to demonstrate excellence when in the shadow of the greatest of his kind.-
“Hnn.” –At the very least now you speak with some wisdom. Continue then...- the First Slither started to crawl around him. –What do you think of my debate with the Wise Prince?-
Xidlor lowered his gaze, reflecting on the matter and formulating an answer. –The Wise Prince Cathiox has always been bearer of valuable counsel and precious secrets, yet, in these recent decades, I’ve been wondering if his perceptions might have been skewed...-
-How so?-
-I do not think he is satisfied with the way the High Tecnarchs are ushering us into our next ascension. This makes him restless, and clouds his judgement. He has lived in V’vidir for many years, he knows not the minds of the new generations.-
-Do you presume greater knowledge on the subject, Ascendant?-
The young sheelikor shrugged his tail. –Not entirely. Yet, the new worlds create new kinds of sheelikoi. The Wise Prince still believes this is so because of differences in the land and the suns, but how can that be? The warriors, the hunters, they travel further under the lead of the High Farseer and the Great Conqueror, but do not change. It is something different, more subtle. If the First Slither were to reveal himself.. you could see and examine their thoughts, Xirleekan.-
-Perhaps, but, as the Wise Prince pointed out, that does not imply the necessity for a pilgrimage.-
-Why do you worry about leaving Xanaslisk?-
Xidlor could feel that the last question had upset the First Slither, so he was quick to continue in a more obsequious tone. –Both you and the Wise Prince seemed to think it would not be appropriate, but the reasoning escapes me, First Slither. With the conquest of the star-rings of the Ancients, shouldn’t be more appropriate for you to rule from t-?-
Xirleekan crawled back to be once again in front of him, closing the distance between the two.
-Xanaslisk is the center of the universe. This world is the peak from whence the First among us can find order in chaos and plan the hunts. I was spawned in Xanaslisk and, through the manifestation of my Will, I’ve taken control over it, alongside the other Slithers. This great temple that we dwell into.. it is a symbol of our dominion over the lesser species, the largest and tallest to ever be built. In your memories it has always been here, towering upon the weak. Yet.. that is not so in mine. I lived when the jungle poisoned these lands, I’ve watched my first slaves place every stone around me as I yelled at them and hurt them and maimed them, so that their labor would be faster and more painful. No other wonder of sheelikean architecture has so many corpses in its foundations... This is the throne that I’ve built, the mountain from which I can look down over all of my territories.. and recognize them as my territories…-
The First Slither stretched his arms, pointing at the many holographic planets orbiting in the dark room.
-...if I leave how am I the First amongst the Slithers?-
-Xirleekan, the other sheelikoi do not think like the Slithers. Even if you leave the great temple for once, none would dare to take your place. Even then, wouldn’t that be a show of cowardice? The predator leaves the cave to hunt, if a lesser kin tries to take his haven, he shall surely scare him away. How could it be any different?-
“Hnnnsss...” The First Slither narrowed his eyes, looking into Xidlor, but then finally turned around and started to crawl away. –Very well. I shall meditate upon your words. You can leave now, Ascendant.-
*****************
-The pitiful defenses of Faradex have fallen, High Farseer.- Said triumphantly the Great Conqueror. –The treacherous subjects of the Star Hive finally have a taste of the terror we bring to their minds and the pain we inflict upon their bodies.-
-Outstanding. As you have seen and as I had foreseen, their pathetic and broken forces offered no resistance against the might of Sheelikor.-
-Are we proceeding towards the next system? Crimdor?-
Zacadliss looked at the holographic map, reveling in the echoes of suffering propagating from the planet that the fleet was orbiting.
-We shall not. It may be but an unnecessary step. We shall strike at the HEART first. If the prey still moves after, we will keep cutting limbs until it stills itself.-
*****************
Lyupl slammed one of his tentacles on the armchair, silencing the crowd of yelling officials. “Enough of this! Order!”
“You must listen to us!” Continued one of the bessadon war analysts. “It is about the future of the entire Galaxy!”
“I will not tolerate this sort of fearmongering.” Answered the havoll. “We shall discuss the matter in peace, or I’ll see you removed from this junta for the remainder of the season.”
“Hmpf.”
Lyupl knew that the sudden disappearance of the Slither’s Fang from the Lancord Sector meant an incoming attack against the Bessadon Star Hive. He had warned the analysts and had taken as much advantage as he could have from his position, fortifying the occupied planets, taking back the systems of Zempek and Raxom. He had almost managed to retake Ur Ithra, the old homeworld of the Uri, before the Slither’s Whip, the new sheelikean fleet, had reached the sector, forcing his forces to retreat. Yet he did not expected the Star Hive to react in such a way.
“I am frankly disappointed in you.” Said the havoll, looking at the two analysts. “The Star Hive was the one to drag us into this premature war, and-!”
“Nothing has changed! Ours is a strategic concern! This is our opportunity to squash the Fang, catching it in enemy territory while it moves inside the Star Hive space! Our forces combined will make short work of it.”
“That’s quite the assumption.” Said Humiigol, the fungoid admiral of Jhoolian.
“Indeed.” Agreed Lyupl. “We’d need to cross the entirety of the Lancord and V’vidir sectors to rejoin your forces from our position. This sort of long distance travel inside enemy territory is far from advisable; we’ve lost enough ships already to their magnetic fortresses.”
“We’d also have the Whip harassing us for the whole travel.” Added Humiigol.
“Exactly. What we’ve done here is far from meaningless: we’ve occupied some important centers of the Consciousness, the slaves we’re transporting in allied space these days are labor force permanently lost to the sheelikoi. Soll’Gavance will surely fall to us within the next months. If we manage to liberate and evacuate the population of Ur Ithra as well, it will already be a great victory for the Compact.”
“Yes,” said nervously one of the bessadon. “but it will be insignificant compared to the defeat of the Hypercoil! We have a chance to completely free those planets and more!”
“And we are still working towards this goal.”
“How?! How, when you’re abandoning the Star Hive to-!”
“If I remember correctly, you had quite the optimistic view on this war when we started. The Star Hive said that he would have been able to hold its front independently. Now that your people have had a taste of sheelikean warfare, you’ve already lost your will to fight? That is not very dignified for a civilization that prides itself for its martial traditions. Or is it fear, spreading through the neural network? You said you had developed the technology to block out the psionic attacks of the sheelikoi soldiers. If you were wrong, then your Star Hive must disconnect its citizens immediately, rather than risk a collapse later.”
“That will not happen, as long as we keep the Fang away from our homeworld!”
“That might not be an option. The uri suffered far worse before breaking in the last war. Today, the few of them who still can are already fighting. They were attacked deceitfully and horrifically, not to mention by surprise. You have no such excuses, so keep on fighting.”
The bessadon analysts emitted a series of angry clicks with their tongue. “When we joined your Compact, we had the impression that you would have helped us in a war against the Hypercoil!”
“What do you think we’re doing here?” asked stiffly the havoll admiral. “You forced this confrontation. And we supported your decision. Did you expect us to do all the work for you too?”
*****************
*****************
-Down! Down on the ground!- the thoughts of the overseers echoed in the minds of the slaves, forcing them to prostrate at the sight of the divine litter. –Do not dare to look upon the divine, mortals!-
-This is the main settlement of Light’s End, o First Slither.- said Ascendant Xidlor, communicating from the litter behind Xirleekan’s. Hidden beyond the silken curtains of their transports, the two sheelikoi could already see the remains of the colony ship settled in the jungle, where the overseers were waiting for them in reverence, alongside lines of prostrated slaves. Unlike all their previous stops in the pilgrimage, the colonists in that world had only moved recently, all purebloods coming from Xanaslisk. And so, unlike all of their previous stops, they knew exactly how to behave in the presence of the First Slither.
-Tell me again, Ascendant, why was this world called Light’s End?-
At the question, Xidlor shivered. It felt inappropriate for a First Slither: it implied distraction. Nevertheless, the Ascendant was quick to answer. –It is the end of this Galaxy, Xirleekan. There are no more planets beyond the Terzam system.-
-Yes... the border is closer below.. than it is above…-
Since their travel to Neoxanàn, where the First Slither had almost been telepathically assaulted by a few scholars, Xirleekan had been more distant than usual to Xidlor.
-Light. Have there been news from the High Tecnarchs? Cabroxi has promised that he is close to unlocking the mystery of the ancients’ star light.-
-None of that, o First Slither. Yet, High Tecnarch Zoz has communicated that the new telepathic nexus have been completed around the star-ring. The avarrians’ will has been completely broken by now, surely. As you had predicted.-
-If their will has been broken, how are their secrets still locked from us?-
Not having a proper answer, Xidlor decided to let his thoughts linger, moving his attention back at the settlement.
-This is Light’s End.- continued the First Slither. –It is the last world of the sheelikoi.- From the shade of his thoughts, it almost felt as if the previous exchanged had not happened. -The last world where our spawning pools will grow. It is the farther from Xanaslisk, but also the greatest jungle to ever be discovered. I foresaw its discovery. Yet, at first, I thought the Great Xaan was the subject of my divination. Then, the Rising Leethran was discovered. Now this. Sheelikor have ascended again and again, so, what has wrought this myopic divination?-
Those words left Xidlor even more uncomfortable, but, once again, he had nothing to say for rebuttal, and decided to just whip the slaves carrying their two litters, ordering them to move faster.
*****************
With the bessadon fleets defeated, admiral Zacadliss reached unopposed and unexpected the Bess’Qoro system and started shortly after the bombardment of Bessqua, homeworld of the Star Hive.
Despite their desperate resistance, the bessadon ground troops could do little against the Great Conqueror’s psionic forces; terror and pain flew through the surface of Bessqua, cracking the resolve of the Star Hive. The security mechanisms put in place to protect the bessadon neural network were eventually broken, and a new surge of fear spread across the stars, overflowing the minds of countless bessadon.
*****************
Lyupl read a fourth time the last report, surrounded by the holographic projections of the rest of the junta.
“Those.. filthy cowards.”
The bessadon war analysts had dismissed themselves a few weeks before; the lack of credible reasons had already raised suspect amongst the coalition admirals, but now there was no doubt about their actions.
“The Star Hive has surrendered.” Said Humiigol, with a dry tone.
“We should have expected it.” Lyupl nodded. “They have always been nothing but opportunists. The ikaanan were too forgiving, too optimist... taking them in and then approve their immediate war? How could our leaders not see the danger? The bessadon just hoped to use us to gain some more land at the Hypercoil’s expenses. We all thought that, deep down. Now.. all of this.. all of our work, for nothing.”
“We could.. continue.” Proposed the fungoid.
“That’s what the Slithers want. Now that they’ve pacified the Star Hive, they can focus only on the Righteous Compact. No. Regardless, the leadership of the federation has ordered us to withdraw, we must obey. If we continue the fighting, it’ll only encourage the Slithers to take even more worlds from the Uri Consciousness. We cannot allow that. The bessadon dragged us into this, let them pay the price.”
The Star Hive seems to have truly screwed themselves now. The Righteous Compact has no reason to stay their allies and the Hypercoil has no need for allies when they have slaves. For a militaristic society, I have to imagine the Star Hive's will has been shattered.
It was a pretty disappointing war. Considering that they had been the ones to declare it, I was expecting some more resistance, rather than a premature end.
The thoughts of the First Slither seem rather... erratic. Talking about stopping the Sheelikoi' conquests at Last Light is madness! I blame his old age. New blood must be injected into the upper echelons of the Hypercoil!