Jason looked around the large and impressive Great Hall. The space was filling up. He felt himself trembling from delayed shock. He distracted himself by looking at the carvings on the walls and the multicolored tiles. He saw insects of various species helping the allies to suitable seating. The media people were setting up their equipment with surprisingly tiny cameras and lights.

Ouma Chatzke, the ruler of trillions of insects, stood up in her praying mantis form to speak. She was the size of a typical large cow, but skinnier and most of the other insects were smaller than her. The guards, however, were enormous, armored and armed. They stood vigilantly with twitching feelers, casting their multifaceted eyes around the room. The hall was now full and the media area crowded. Jason recognized several of the reporters and producers he knew. As he looked at them, they waved and gesticulated excitedly in his direction.

“My people, we are here today to celebrate a great victory and to mourn those of us and the people of our allies who died,” Ouma said speaking telepathically.

Jason looked towards the Dinosaurs, for whom telepathy was a new experience. They looked excited to hear a telepathic speech. The Queen, Her Highness, Lynas Parayekt, looked regal wearing a massive necklace of platinum links with a baseball sized emerald at the end. Even sitting, her head was at least 25 feet above the ground. Her huge mouth displayed her perfect set of razor sharp nine inch teeth. She sat with two of her advisors, one more heavily built and larger than the queen, one much smaller.

“We are here to honor our allies and friends. They saved us from defeat from attack by the cockroaches of the Coven and the People of Dhoom; an aquatic octopus species from another galaxy. I was meeting with friends and allies when we received intelligence that we faced an impending attack. All of those present sent their available fleets to support us. I will introduce our allies, to you when I honor them with a symbol of our appreciation,”- she stood and held the medallion above her head. “This medallion, created for this occasion, symbolizes our thanks to each of them and awards them honorary citizenship of the Collective. There is no higher honor we can accord.” Ouma continued.

Jason was impressed with the elegant medallion; it first looked like a coin with a jewel in its center, then changed into a glittering jewel, then changed into a coin and finally changed into a semi-transparent cube built around a jewel. It continued to change and reflect the ambient light.

“I will begin at the end of the table with the Emperor of the Jumo; Felix Maximus Romulus known as Felix, along with the Prime Minister of the Jumo people, Cephus Nazared. The Jumo welcomed refugees from the Empire for many years. They lived together amicably until the Coven infiltrated their empire and took control. We knew them as the Mob and they fought two wars against the Empire who defeated them twice. Jason helped defeat a third Mob attack on the Empire, and we assisted him to capture the Mob leader, hidden deeply underground. We honor you, Emperor and your people for your friendship and your help.”

Ouma Chatzke moved over to the Emperor and put the remarkable looking medallion on a thin chain around his neck. The audience made various sounds of approval that filled the hall, each applauding in their own way. Jason looked at the audience and saw they comprised a mix of each of the allies, but there was a preponderance of insects. He saw both groups that had accompanied him from the University.

“Sheila Von Porquenta has proved crucial to our victory. I honor you Sheila,” said Ouma Chatzke as she handed her a medallion. She did not refer to Porquenta, the planetary AI and the creator of Sheila.

“Emperor Cassius is the leader of the Empire of which Jason is a part. The Coven of Cockroaches infiltrated his empire trying to conquer their galaxy. I am sure you recall Emperor Cassius from his popular appearances on the media here. His fleet, forces and underwater craft were of great help. I honor you Cassius”-Ouma Chatzke placed a medallion around his neck.

“I present Jacques and his wife Freya who lead the people known as the Golden Warriors of the Apocalypse. They are an ancient people similar to ourselves. We met through Jason Kargo though we were acquainted with their people; but not for many hundreds of thousand years. We fought with them in the first great Apocalyptic War. Their ships and weapons were formidable even then. We honor you Jacques.

“I will now continue with the table to my right. I first honor Her Highness Lynas Parayekt a similar ancient people to ourselves from a kingdom in a galaxy next to the Empire. We only recently became acquainted with them, yet they selflessly supported us. Their fleet is formidable and they know our enemies well. I am sure you recognize her people and saw her shock troops defending the capital. I honor you Empress,” said Ouma Chatzke looking up as she was helped to hand the Tyrannosaurus Rex Queen a large medallion and chain appropriate for her size.

“Marduk leads the Orcs who you saw defending our cities. He defended us against many planet killer missiles. The enemy injured Marduk severely during the battle. He only had one missile left but he was too injured to control it. The enemy fired their last planet destroying missile at the heart of our planet. Marduk asked Jason and Sheila to control his only remaining defensive missile. Together they saved our planet from disaster. I honor you Marduk.

“Jason introduced us to his allies and his dogs and his boars. I introduce you to Rover, Rosie and Lily who are demonic war hounds, or the Hounds of the Apocalypse or as they call themselves Astro-Hounds, dogs who can travel the stars and to the boars represented by Aylot. They heroically fought the enemy in the cities and on the beaches. Both groups of animals fought in the earlier intergalactic wars,” continued Ouma.

The dogs and Aylot manifested in their fiercest massive forms with the dogs showing their horns and projecting lightning. Aylot showed his fierce tusks. They turned back into docile dogs and a much smaller pig. Ouma placed collars with medallions around their necks as they stood proudly.

“I present Duke Jason Kargo, who we all know well. Jason comes from Earth. His ships played a vital role in our defense. He is beloved and influential in the Collective. He is one of us. Today I present him with a medallion and honor him. I present him with the keys of the Collective and the keys to our hearts. I honor you Jason Kargo from the bottom of my heart and thank you for your understated achievements and modesty” Ouma Chatzke finished by saying; “Please show your appreciation for the people honored today.”

There was an uproar of noise, of cheers, of shouting, the scratching noise of insects rubbing their front limbs together, clapping and stamping in the Dinosaur manner and some cheers and also flapping of arms Empire style.

“We will adjourn to the hall and reception rooms next door to eat and drink together, to toast to comradeship and to our cooperative endeavors. We will eat and drink to celebrate being alive and to the defeat of our enemies.”

“Lynas, as requested by you I lined up teachers for your group to further your knowledge in telepathy and to help you develop other skills making use of trans-dimensional energy,” said Ouma Chatzke, “but please call me Brecht my first name. I think I will use it more often. Even my friends call me by my title Ouma, which is not something I want to continue amongst friends and equals.

“The doctors were interested in your idea of changing forms. We always had that ability but rarely used it, except for espionage. Jason was an inspiring young man who led our insects of the Collective who he called “Bugs” to enjoy exploring the mammalian form. We continue to refer to ourselves as “Bugs.” The humanoid form has been a delightful adventure and has given our Bugs new challenges to master. Marduk has been the pioneer as a bio-mechanical Orc and the technique works well for the Orcs.

“I understand your reasons for wanting to change are different from ours. You wish to eat diverse foods and reduce food production pressures on your planets. We have mastered the technique to transform your DNA and we can give you the ability to change to human or insect form and you can elect an Orc form as well. You will be able to change form in seconds and revert whenever you wish.

“Jason has the Bug form for combat as you well know, but he also has another form which works on a different mechanism where he can under certain circumstances enlarge himself to your size. He says it is easier for him to change into a Bug and he would love to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex with the same level of ease. Jason told me it is of great appeal to him to sit next to you and gnaw on a massive bone. It is an image that attracts me, I must admit,” Brecht said and grinned broadly.

Lynas looked at Jason, stamped her foot and then laughed so loudly the room vibrated. The whole room was silent for some moments before conversations started again. Jason grinned at her, while Linda, Philippa and Andrea got the giggles.

“Brecht we would like to go ahead and see your doctors. Thank you for arranging for our people to visit your facilities and for providing us with your medical knowledge. It is a wonderful gift. The doctors tell me you are much further advanced that we are. Thank you too for the replicators that will create pods for us, it is a great boon. We will reciprocate with our scientific information. We see many advantages of the bug and mammalian forms.

“As I explained to you, we struggle to feed our population the fresh meat we require. We despise replicator food as we can’t make it palatable. Replicator bones are the wrong texture and we need to chew on bones. Everything we create and use is large and our forelimbs are not as dexterous as we would wish. You can use poisons in combat, you have amazing radiation resistance and gene self-repair. We also like humanoid dexterous hands and a diet that includes fruit and vegetables we can grow on our planets. Clothing intrigues us. There are parts of our planets we do not use as we do not like low temperatures. We never considered clothing, bizarre as that may seem, even though we use armor.

“I enjoyed talking to your people during this week. They told me how much they enjoy changing forms. Many of them I thought were humanoid, but they told me they simply enjoyed the humanoid form. I regret I cannot articulate your language, I learned to speak it and understand it, but I cannot make the sounds. Translating language here has not been a problem as everyone can communicate telepathically. We are enjoying telepathy very much. It is quick and efficient.”

“Lynas, we agree with you. We are growing fruit and vegetables on Mars and Porquenta and learning to grow both here. Different forms have their own inherent advantages,” Brecht replied. “I hope we all will share what we know so we can fight the enemy more effectively.”

“Brecht I would like to see your planet when there is the opportunity. It is so different from what I am used to. Our planets are much more like the humanoid planets. This galaxy is so much closer to the center of the galaxy and has evolved in a different way; I assume due to the higher levels of radiation. It is amazing how your people evolved and survived in a harsh radiation environment. The foliage on the surface, is different from ours. As it is vegetable matter, it is not palatable to us at all.

“I was talking to Jason’s chef, Robert, who I know well, and he tells me that he can prepare delicious vegetarian foods. He also cooked for me one of the larger insects he said you use as a food source and it was delicious. I tried some of it raw, but I could not eat it,” Lynas finished and asked. “Can you eat the humanoid food?”

“We can eat everything they eat and they can eat everything we eat if in insect form. We were not aware of the concept of cooking until we spent time with Jason. It has transformed our way of eating. We now also use spices and herbs.” Brecht replied.

Jason enjoyed sitting at the comfortable seat next to the well-worn table in the home of Ouma Chatzke. The smell in the room was delightful, reflective of the influence of an interesting piece of olfactory art carefully placed on the side on a side table. Jason appreciated his improved sense of smell that allowed him to enjoy the delicate nuances of the piece of art.

“I’m delighted to welcome all of you to my home, to enjoy dinner together,” communicated Ouma Chatzke by telepathy. She was in her praying mantis form and sitting on her boat shaped seat. “Philippa will be here shortly.”

Two servers entered the room and handed drinks to Ouma Chatzke, the Emperor Cassius and to Jason. Jason looked at the table and it was laid for one more guest. The servers returned a few moments later with plates of snacks.

Cassius turned to Jason. “Jason, Brecht and I want talk to you about your future and the plans for the short and medium-term. How are you doing?” Cassius put his arm around Jason’s shoulder for a one armed hug.

“I am in shock after the horrific battle last week. I feel the weight of heavy responsibility on my shoulders for the outcome of this impending war. Had I not had the forewarning that I did the outcome would have been disastrous. I woke last night after a nightmare where we did not get to Charassa in time and the planet was occupied. What will happen with all the future battles, how many people will be killed if I cannot alert them to danger. I don’t know how I can be everywhere at once. Now I feel back on an out of control treadmill. I fell asleep and woke after another nightmare. Sheila and I were trying to guide our missile to catch the Coven planet destroyer. The planet shattered into hundreds of pieces. I had palpitations for half an hour.

“Despite everything going on at the University, I had felt more settled this year. The pace was slower. It was only a crisis every few weeks, rather than a new planet, new battle every few days and then new enemies every week. The crises were more manageable somehow.

“In many of the battles that I fought, the odds have been very much more in our favor until this last battle with so many casualties, ships, and cities damaged. The enemies are getting more and more formidable as I go on. I still have nightmares that began with my previous war experience in the jungle and now include this last battle. I was terrified the planet killer was going to destroy Charassa, that I was going to fail and that I would lose Ouma and so many wonderful bugs I know. Much of this is irrational, and I know I can’t be everywhere, but I nevertheless feel responsible,” said Jason.

Brecht Chatzke returned to the room in human form, dressed in a little black dress.

“Cassius and I saw your reaction to the battle. You have been looking very tired and upset these last few days. We agreed that I would speak to you,” said Ouma (Brecht) Chatzke his mother-in-law.

“You have fought in a war in your younger days that was a dangerous jungle war full of threats, booby-traps and a ruthless enemy. On your way here, you fought some extraordinary battles. You dealt with your enemies very cleverly and acquired a formidable army and a fleet. Your subsequent engagements were brilliantly fought, but many of your victories were sealed by additional technology and allies that you acquired and I refer to ‘the dogs and the pigs’, specifically, though Porquenta counts as well. You now have the ability to delegate most of the fighting to outstanding admirals and generals, who have an unprecedented loyalty to you. The morale of your forces is second to none.

“My military staff have analyzed your strategies and your tactics and are impressed by your strenuous efforts to protect your people and your assets. They believe it is one of your major assets and downfalls in that you cannot avoid damage and casualties in the size and the scope of the war we are now engaged in and waging,” Brecht stated with conviction.

Jason leaned back. His back looked rigid and stiff and he sat awkwardly. “Thank you very much for your praise today and also for providing me with the information on the analysis of my battles. I lost many men, some in horrifying ways during the Vietnam War. I value life and the lives of my people. When I returned from Vietnam it took me a long time to settle down and I still had nightmares for ten years. My nightmares returned after I encountered the pirates three months after I left Earth.

“It is only in these last nine months I have been involved in battles on a bigger scale. Your people are right, I do find it incredibly difficult to plan a battle where both sides will slug it out and sustain massive damage. My special forces training was very much oriented to a surgical strike inflicting maximal damage on the enemy and escaping or collecting intelligence for the army to attack once we left. One of the images that remains with me after the war is of an attack on a village by us to kill an important enemy commander. The information we had been provided was false and I can still see the faces of the children I killed. This is what makes it difficult for me to be as ruthless as I need to be. I am terrified of making the same mistake and killing the innocent. I faced a court martial for war crimes. I used to look at the face of my daughter when she was a young child and sometimes the faces of the children that were killed were superimposed upon her face,” said Jason as he came out of his reverie.

“Enough of that sentimentality let us move on, this is a different war and there are different issues. Both of you are also aware that I still have a partly intact fleet. My fleet will need to be part of this war and how can I not be involved?”

Brecht replied, “Your fleet will be enormously valuable and important. You have very effective weapons against our current enemies and a new generation of shields courtesy of Porquenta. I would propose your fleet joins the fleet of the Collective. We will need your help, and I know you have an excellent team who can command your fleet.”

“Jason, you are a Duke, it is important to learn to step back and control your people and your assets from a distance. We feel it is premature for you to be directly involved and exposed in this war as part of a fleet. I have no doubt along the way events will occur where you are going to become involved. You attract such events and even though I would prefer you don’t get involved, I can foresee you will. You are destined to be centrally involved in events, but not as a fleet admiral or a general in the short term,” said Cassius.

Brecht looked at Cassius and nodded, then turned back to Jason. “Our enemies are of a similar level of technology to our own. The Coven may have fallen behind us a little, but you will hear some interesting information when you hear the results of our intelligence interrogations. I do not want to spoil their little surprises and it would make their presentation dull for you on Porquenta. Our enemies learn as quickly as we do, but you will hear of the others behind them. This will be a war that will be fought on many fronts, there will be battles in at least three galaxies and the war will involve trillions of beings. There will be destruction and death on a grand scale no matter what we do and no matter how we do it. This war will be waged over many years if not centuries as was the last. We will be exhausted and weary by the end and perhaps not all of us will survive it,” said Brecht before continuing.

“Both Cassius and I have the necessary judgement and instincts of rulers to look at issues in the longer-term. You are a very young man and early in your development. Neither of us believe that you should be involved in this war full-time. You need to pursue your further development and your integration into our societies. We are aware your aunt is restructuring the university as our academics are involved, but we believe you need to study further with your groups. They are fine people and I have no doubt several will remain friends with you for a lifetime. We also know that you have undertaken most of the work other than one major project that both Cassius and I believe is vital that you undertake in the Empire.

“We have also spoken to the Empress, your aunt Alana who has an advanced study project in mind once you complete your computer assignment. On a lighter note I am informed that there are international wagers that are also at stake. The University here is very much involved in the outcome, but both Cassius and I believe that there is much value in you continuing your development,” continued Brecht Chatzke.

“Cassius this may surprise you. The mathematics professors visited me yesterday and told me Jason has continued his mathematical work and has demonstrated how one can enter a dimension and travel to an alternate universe. The Una believe they have found their people, using his mathematical work. They are developing ships to travel between universes. They are looking at the current work to understand the issues they may face. I understand that he has also defined some of the mathematics of at least one other universe. The Parzool have offered to share their own advances in the area. The Professors were so excited they were chattering away about the implications of your work. They said, Cassius, that the entry point to the dimension, the travel through the dimension and the entry to another Universe was fully defined. The physics people know the physics of that dimension reasonably well but are now frantically working on the new Universe they can perceive through the newly derived concepts,” said Brecht

She looked at Jason, “The Parzool mathematicians are looking at your work. I understand they defined very different approaches and Universes. Your work remains important. Cassius our boy has done so well.” Brecht said as Cassius grinned while looking at Jason and shaking his head.

“We are both so proud of you Jason,” said Cassius. “Now let me move onto the timetable of events. All the leaders want to visit Porquenta, but the earliest they can all leave is in four days. We have arranged to meet there to discuss in more detail how we can work together. Probably we will go on to Earth from there and then visit the Jumo before you start University again.”

“Thank you for reminding me about Earth,” said Ouma Chatzke. “There is every likelihood that the people of Dhoom are in the oceans of earth. Our intelligence people agree that it is the most likely case. People are disappearing in some cities, but most are close to tracts of water. There was a sighting of an underwater vehicle and a ship impact on a shield. We are going to send some of our surveillance satellites along with you, and I understand that Porquenta will give you a whole lot more. From what my people tell me, Earth is very developable and I believe that it is essential that this process is accelerated.

Cassius nodded slowly before speaking.“The organization of Earth is chaotic and I do consider that at some stage Jason your house is going to need to take over the planet and get it running properly, before somebody else from another galaxy does so. For now, I simply want you to think about it. Tomorrow you’re going to learn about a number of other nasties that I hope will hasten your decision a little with Earth. When you are ready to consider that decision a little further you need to talk to both Cassius and to me. We have done this kind of thing many times before and it can make a dramatic difference to the quality of life of your people. As it is, the planet will become far less pleasant in fifty years and a disaster in the next one hundred and fifty years. The planet needs a major cleanup and time is running out."

“I do think it is also time that both of you call me by my first name. Usually you would need to know me for fifty-thousand years or be an ancient. Jason you qualify without knowing it, and in Cassius’ case we will make an exception, and incidentally Brecht is the name,” said Ouma Chatzke and laughed uproariously as Philippa entered.

“And here comes my good daughter! Welcome Philippa, it’s good to see you, how are things going on Nobatia?” Ouma Chatzke asked.

Philippa crossed the room, kissed Jason, moved over to Ouma Chatzke, kissed and hugged her, then returned to sit next to Jason and held his hand before turning back to face her mother.

“They are all very upset and agitated. The whole planet is in shock but is busily clearing the damage and is also mobilizing for war. It is the first time Charassa has ever been directly attacked. I need to visit the factories to support our people as my sisters will simply raise everyone’s anxieties. They have simply fallen apart. There is much to do for the war effort and they are throwing their arms up in horror saying that they can’t do it. They can and they will. I will need to go back to harden their chitin before they turn into jelly. Jason, how about you come back with me for a few weeks to help improve the morale of my sisters and the planet before you fly back to the Empire?”

“Philippa, I would be delighted to do so but I did commit to go to Porquenta and then Earth. I have the two groups of students with me. We also have impending leaders’ meetings on Porquenta,” said Jason apologetically. “Your mother has some concerns that Earth has already been invaded and I need to look into the implications and find where the Octopi are hiding.”

“Jason I am asking you to do one small thing for me. You do everything for everyone else and I am at the end of your list and get dropped off. This is your child I have here, don’t forget” - Philippa patted her abdomen - “Nobatia is part of our assets. You have extensive investments there,” said Philippa angrily, her face flushing.

“Perhaps, we can talk about this afterwards on our own?” Jason asked awkwardly.

Cassius was grinning, but Brecht was looking furious.

Philippa angrily responded, “No, I want to sort it out now, Jason. You are so unreasonable at times. What have I ever asked you to do for me? Then when I make a small request you choose to visit that computer, Porquenta, and Earth instead. I specially don’t like you spending so much time with that flirty Cockroach woman, Razza. Where do I come in your priorities? What about what I need? Why am I at the end of the list? What am I to you; chopped beetle?”

“Enough Philippa, this tantrum is unbecoming, you are behaving like you are still a grub. You are an adult and a queen and you need to behave with decorum. Jason was instructed by us to maintain his routine. Porquenta is not just a computer, you demean him. He is an ancient artificial intelligence and I will not permit you to insult a sentient being in my presence,” said Ouma Chatzke angrily.

Philippa apologized, but was still agitated, “I am sorry mama, I feel very emotional since I am pregnant. I would still like Jason to come with me for some support.”

“Ouma… sorry… Brecht, perhaps I can go to Nobatia, not for two weeks but for two or three days and then leave from there for Porquenta. I will go with Philippa today and I’ll cut the time on Earth. My love can you accept that compromise?” Jason asked.

Philippa nodded, still scowling.

“Jason, I would like to welcome you to the life of a ruler, politician or administrator. You cannot please everyone, least of all your family,” said Brecht laughing loudly while Cassius grinned and Philippa glowered.

– Carl von Clausewitz

“Be very careful as you go up the stairs. Wait before you climb up more than half way. Allow the water to drain from you, wipe your feet. You don’t want to have tracks appearing behind you while you are cloaked!”

“Yes Sgt. we will do as you say. Can you indicate where the lifeforms are located, we can’t see them from here.”

“There are twenty-two lifeforms a hundred yards that way. There is a police patrol that comes this way nearly every hour. You need to move quickly if you’re going to capture them.”

Twenty-five armored seals from Dhoom swam under the water from the shuttle to the stairway. They paused until the water drained from their armor before they made their way along the pier to the homeless group. As one of the seals stumbled awkwardly over a piece of masonry in the dark, a young man in his mid-teens was startled awake.

He slept very lightly and remained acutely aware of his environment as he had recently been attacked and abused. He sensed danger, scanned around himself, first crouched then launched himself from his resting place and ran towards the buildings. A seal raised a stun rifle and fired but he was too slow as the boy dodged and zig-zagged, behind the columns and benches. The seal missed, but did not chase him, instead concentrated on the people that remained.

“We have stunned them all. Pick them up and bring them back to the shuttle as quickly as you can, we do not want to alert the authorities. Come on people move your tentacles as fast as you can, the shuttle detected a patrol approaching. The police patrol is five minutes early and we need to be away as quickly as we can. Our shuttle is surfacing and is waiting right next to the stairway.”

Each seal carried one person and moved as fast as they could along the pier down the stairs and into the shuttle. The shuttle door closed and they moved beneath the surface minutes before the patrol arrived at the docks.

John, the fifteen-year-old hailed the patrol.

Sgt. Desmond Doyle opened his window to see the panting and distressed young man, whom he recognized as the youngster he had picked up two months ago after the vicious assault. He looked over at his partner who shrugged, saying, “Sarge we did arrange placement for him in a foster home, but I heard he ran away. I wonder what his story is tonight, he is in a bad way from what I can see.”

Doyle saw John recognized him and was trying to regain control of himself. John breathlessly tried to speak then stopped, paused and tried again.

“I was sleeping over there,” John said and pointed towards some blankets, bags and clothing. “Something startled me, I don’t know what it was but I heard a sound and I woke up. I wasn’t going to wait around and be attacked when I was lying down. I saw some hazy stuff in front of me but couldn’t understand what it was and ran away from whatever it was.” John said panting. “I hid behind a pillar but heard nothing coming behind me. I slowly crept back. I looked around a pillar. Then I saw the unconscious bodies rising up. I knew you guys were coming so I decided to look very carefully. They looked as though they were being put on the shoulders of people that I could not see. When I looked really carefully, I saw some kind of hazy cloud beneath them. You could see through it but it looked like a hot air haze. The bodies moved along the pier just curled and hanging.

“I saw you guys coming in the distance, so I moved back towards the blankets and I saw this flying saucer submarine appear near the stairs at the end of the pier. All the bodies moved to the stairs and then down them and I could see them going into a round door. It then submerged. I ran back to the pillar next to the road so I could tell you what I saw. Sgt. Doyle, those people were just taken away.”

“John I would like you to come with us back to the station to make a formal statement. Let me tell you the good news and the bad news. The good news is; I’m not going to force you into foster care. The bad news is that this is happening all over New York in areas near the water. That means that if you are going to choose to remain on the streets, you’re going to face a big risk. Yours is the clearest description we have had to date, but the lieutenant says thousands have disappeared.

Galaxy Albos Planet Grorkin; Reftufessel the Capitol:

“Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are literally millions of human beings whose lives have been snuffed out by people who conquered under the banner of a white god.”

—Tim Wise

Merwynd Shreftsigt, the Grork General stood up and addressed the gathering.

“Colleagues it is my unfortunate duty to convene this meeting and it is with regret I inform you, I am highly dissatisfied with the recent outcome of the attack on Charassa. The attack was a disaster for our allies. It is not the fault of the Dhoom. They are reliable and predictable and share our beliefs and needs. We both face similar problems. You are all aware that we expended considerable effort to improve their technology and to provide them with resources that would allow them to successfully attack the Collective. In every area they have delivered for us.

“We liaised with the Ghoul Queen and together we ensured that the Coven and the creatures of Dhoom work together rather than be at each other’s throats. The Ghouls have become highly dissatisfied with the Coven as not only have they not delivered, the Ghouls have lost ships, which like us, they can ill afford, as a result of the ineptitude of the Coven. In this current battle the Dhoom and Coven had superior ship numbers, yet they did not succeed. We also lost one of our own fleets. I can barely go through a day without feeling the pain of the loss of so many of our fine colleagues and friends.

“I have looked at the after-action reports and my only conclusion is that we were betrayed. I cannot determine who betrayed us but I know it is unlikely to be our friends, the creatures of Dhoom. They fought heroically and with determination and resolve. They fought a good fight. They were determined and professional. They escaped several traps and dealt a devastating blow to the enemy. Our own fleet was identified and attacked by our ancient and implacable enemies, the Parzool, led by Queen Parayekt and her misshapen beasts. They systematically destroyed our precious fleet, ship by ship. They have continued to improve their weapons and we are unable to keep up. Similarly, our colleagues the Ghouls lost four capital ships to attacks from the Warriors of the Apocalypse. My only conclusion is that we have been infiltrated and our plans have been released to the enemy. Our oldest enemies have taken the opportunity to destroy us and our allies. We analyzed the technological level of our enemies’-weapons and shields. They ambushed us and struck us with weapons of unprecedented power.

“I am sad to say that our numbers have dwindled yet again. Our resources are yet again depleted, further reducing our reach, our power and our influence. For the last one million years our numbers have not grown and we became infertile while we are in symbiosis with the Schlogg. They are cooperative and pleasant hosts, but we are crippled while we live together with them. None of our genetic projects has reached fruition. We are steadily losing our people to attrition. More of us are being forced into stasis by the Schlogg. The Slugs gave us a quarter of a million years to find alternative hosts, and our time is running out. They are sentient, have become independent and want to make their own way. Under the circumstances, we know that we must move on but we are stuck as we have not found more promising prospects in this galaxy.

“Gerwish, please report on your intelligence findings,” directed the General.

“General, my report covers the projects we have underway, there are no new projects. Our major area of effort is upon the planet Earth where we have a research base in the ocean together with the Dhoom. Earth is a relatively primitive planet with the species, human only recently sentient. Their security is pitiful and we are easily able to obtain suitable specimens for experimentation. Many such specimens live in their streets and they tell us that they choose to be street people. The reasons they choose to subject themselves to the elements and be vulnerable remain obscure to us and is a problem I cannot comprehend. When captured, many of them have bottles in brown paper bags while others have a condition that they tell us is called psychosis which requires them to take medication. We have replicated both for them, as they assure us that the substances contained therein are essential to their well-being. Some of them utilize other medications, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine which we give to them. In cases where we have not supplied the necessary substances their physical state has declined. We are able to establish a connection and attach to all of them and they are suitable hosts, but our people do not do as well as we would hope since they appear to enjoy the experience but are cognitively impaired. The good news is; we can replicate ourselves and our fertility issues may be solved.

“We are assisting the Dhoom with the genetic aspects of their own integration with the subjects. The Dhoom believe they cannot transfer their complete consciousness and memories as there is not enough room or capacity in the brains of the humans. They are experimenting with adding further artificial brain capacity to facilitate a possible transfer. The subjects are already being augmented with an AI that controls ambulation. I suspect that like us, living in another form is close to an unsurmountable problem. They are, however, making good progress and believe that they will be able to undertake a transfer of consciousness in the not-too-distant future.

“They are attempting to speed up the process and have acquired fifteen thousand subjects with whom they are attempting to enter the humanoid form. They tell me that when they make the transition it takes them approximately three months to be able to utilize the new form and they find themselves continuously fighting with the original consciousness. They cannot yet displace it. They informed me that many of the subjects have very unusual patterns of thought. They have not been successful in subduing the subject’s thoughts and have found themselves increasingly disturbed. If they continue to use the medication that the subject had used, they do not have the problems with the thoughts, but then, their thought processes are less efficient. In some of the subjects they feel entirely unmotivated and function very poorly. They are satisfied with the humanoid form but are not satisfied with the level of the humanoid brain as tested.

“Even though there are major problems, we are of the belief that these can be solved and that we are making very substantial progress. We are intending to acquire further subjects from two locations where our current subjects have resided earlier. One is known as a mental hospital, from where we can acquire four thousand subjects and the second is a prison, from where we will be able to acquire a further two thousand subjects. From what we are able to establish in interrogations, these are excellent sources for future subjects. We have located four mental hospitals that are within a mile from the sea which will allow us to acquire another seven to eight thousand subjects with ease. We have also found two prisons from where we can acquire four thousand subjects with reasonable ease. Our current subjects have been very helpful in this regard and are quite cooperative with our endeavors as they appear to be of the belief that their fellows are being incarcerated without reason. There are no equivalent institutions within our society and therefore we do not have a satisfactory frame of reference to provide you, your greatness.” Gerwish Vernigt reported.

“We are in a difficult position and are vulnerable. For that reason, it is my recommendation we attempt to keep the unlikely alliance between the Octopi and the unfortunate creatures of the Coven alive if at all possible. Our catch cry should be that if they do not stay together, they are likely to be slaughtered.

“Our enemies have driven us back in the short term and are moving to strike into the territory of both the creatures of Dhoom and the Coven. We are fortunate as are the Ghouls, that we are not vulnerable as none of our enemies can travel between the universes. This universe suits our purposes to stage and support our efforts, but we can retreat to Universe Bekta Delta. The Ghouls are in a more vulnerable position as they are running out of power and the sources to obtain it. They are even more desperate than us.

“It is sad that our long-term strategy of using poisons in the Empire and with the Warriors of the Apocalypse has been discovered. We are investigating other ways of achieving our goals, but I fear time is running out for us and our people. I, therefore, seek your endorsement to hand over even more knowledge and weapons to the Dhoom group so that they can help us achieve our aims. They tell me that their spies have informed them that the central figure behind all of our setbacks is the Archduke Jason Kargo. They are going to make every effort to remove his influence.” Merwynd Shreftsigt finished.

Cockroach Coven – Old Palace of the Emperor, Conference room 1:

Attendees:

Larnor Bakt-Yek – Grand Overseer of Coven of Cockroaches.

Yesteg Krimpt – Senior General of Intelligence, Coven of Cockroaches

Gremd Mordrake – Para Overseer of Internal Affairs, Coven of Cockroaches

Adm. Moulash Yamkrol – Diplomat and Ghoul Emissary.

---

“Emissary, I would like to welcome you, once again, on behalf of our Coven of Cockroaches,” said Larnor Bakt-Yek.

“Thank you very much for your welcome Grand Overseer, the Queen sends her greetings and her regrets. This last expedition has been regrettable. The Queen finds it hard to believe that despite powerful allies we find ourselves in this disastrous situation. She notes that our allies are not better off and it is her belief that we were not betrayed by them. She has had the opportunity to analyze the battle in detail and she would like to bring to your attention some observations that she and our senior military have made.

“The technique that was used to trap your ships is known to us and is highly advanced. It was known to very few advanced races that we know about including our creators. We are no longer party to the information that is used to construct such devices, but we are aware of how to evade such traps. We did provide the information to your fleets when we observed the trap and that allowed at least some of your ships to escape. We observed at least three ancient races that allied themselves with our enemies. We have fought with and against the Warriors of the Apocalypse and we are well aware of the dangerous nature of the Dinosaurs. They have been previously very insular, but they now appear to be emerging. The same situation applies to the Una who appeared to have become active in this galaxy in the form of energy beings. Following the great Apocalyptic War, they were dispersed and it is our aim to capture the Una who are in our Universe. They are an advanced people which forces us to proceed with the greatest of care. In our galaxy they are in a humanoid form with wings and as such they are useful to us. Any one of the three advanced races could have created these devices that trapped you.

“The enemy fleets displayed a diversity of weapons. We have provided you with the technology to be able to successfully attack the Collective. The defenders surprised us with powerful and dangerous weapons. They caught us unawares at Beeliar, but we collected information carefully during this attack; despite the disastrous consequences for some of our ships. The greatest thorn in our side is the fleet of the young Archduke Jason Kargo. This young man is a growing threat to all of us in this universe. He is at the center of what is going on. We do not know his role, but of all the potential leaders he is the most vulnerable and exposed. If we get rid of him, we dispose of a big problem. His fleet was the most effective of all of the fleets including the ancients. His weapons have the characteristics of those of the ancients, but are different to the Parzool freaks, The Orcs and the misnamed and despised Warriors of the Apocalypse.

“The Empires share many of the same weapons as Lord Kargo. The underwater craft of Emperor Cassius were effective. For a low-level technology people, they astonished us. We know they have made a leap forward. The Empire of Cassius and the Empire of Felix are moving ahead more quickly than any previous civilizations we know. This is very dangerous for us all. We know of the influence of the Collective Insects from your Galaxy, Tiland. They have been an aggravation to us all for a million years, but we are hearing about another ancient race called Porquenta. This ancient race is making very powerful weapons and appears to be selling them to our enemies. We cannot find such a race in our archives but the influence of Porquenta is pervasive and menacing to all of our interests,” said the Emissary.

“Our Queen remains concerned you have not delivered as you have promised. We brokered a deal to help you with your biggest enemies to help you overcome the Collective. Had you attacked the Empire you would have been very vulnerable to the forces of the Collective. If you would have attacked the people of Dhoom it is our view neither of you could win. Both of you have lost an equivalent number of ships, but they have overtaken you. We do not want to be pessimistic about the outcome of the conflict with the people of Dhoom. It is for that reason we suggested an alliance. Our greatest concern is that you have been compromised and your information leaks to our enemies. There is no other way that they could know of the potential attacks. They could not have assembled such a force of allies had they not been aware well ahead of time of your intentions. Our Queen has been concerned for some time about the security of your information, as your security has an impact upon our security. Our Queen wishes to penalize you for your poor performance. We want you to send fifty-million of your people to us in compensation for your inability to deliver as you have promised. We have provided you with technology and assistance, you have promised constantly that you would deliver outcomes and in each case you have not delivered.

“Our queen has become impatient. She believes you need to send a deposit of five million people to mitigate our risk immediately. We will accept the fifty-million in installments over the next three months.” Adm. Moulash Yamkrol, the Emissary demanded.

Larnor Bakt-Yek replied, “Emissary, we will reluctantly concur with your request. We will require the analysis of weapons and defenses you have made. We also need to know how to escape from the net that paralyzed our ships.”

“Agreed.”

“We will load your freighters as we have done previously?”

“Yes, we will send details of our freighter timetables.”

Cockroach Coven – Old Palace of the Emperor, Conference room 1:

“I would now like to receive your reports of progress,” Bakt-Yek ordered as he looked at the Para-Overseer of Internal affairs. “Mordrake, I was disturbed by your report. Can you please explain your opinions?”

Gremd Mordrake started his briefing, “Overseer, the internal situation within the Coven is progressively deteriorating. The morale of our Cockroaches is at an all-time low. The recent failure against the Collective is weighing heavily upon our people. They crave a victory, but we have given them one defeat after the other. Morale within the military is abominable and our concern is that we will lose control unless we are able to achieve some kind of positive victory in the not-too-distant future.

“Positively, I have assembled all of our dissidents in one location as planned, along with our problem people from every planet. Within hours they are all going to be sent to our friends the Ghouls. They will take a very big problem off our hands. We have a consistent percentage of the population of dissidents. This percentage fluctuates little over the centuries. Internal intelligence concentrates on those groups and identifies them. We round them up and we dispose of them to the Ghouls. If they disappear it takes a very long time for replacements to get organized. We go significantly deeper to try and take many levels of their organization and many of their members as well. We have done the same with criminals. We worked with the police to assemble every single troublemaker, criminal and other individual of any kind that has caused our society any kind of difficulty. We also fortunately had nearly three million such individuals in stasis and we have added this group to the pool for garbage disposal. Our society even at its best would not miss them. The Ghouls do not specify the quality only the quantity and we deliver as expected.

“The second matter is that of gathering intelligence from our enemies. Infiltrating the enemy is a constant problem. Our scientists are concerned that they do not have the full genetic template that they need to convert our people to humans or Bugs so that they will not be able to be found. Ten percent of our infiltrators remain in place gathering intelligence and undermining the enemy. An unexpected problem has arisen. The closer the genetic match to the enemy, the more likely they are to identify with the host nation. Of the ten percent, nearly four-fifths have chosen to break off links with us. This is leading us to very severe and serious intelligence problems. We are increasingly unsure of the validity and reliability of the information that we are receiving as we are no longer sure of the loyalty of our so-called spies within both the Empire and in the Collective.

“The third matter is our declining morale at home and the increasing risk of civil war. We are battling to keep a lid on our problems in our own planets. The Royal Family remain a thorn in our sides, they are doing nothing overtly to counter us, but the people are asking for their return. We have wished to remove this cursed family festering in the Coven and now we have the opportunity. This war provides us with the confluence of events where we can to remove the problem once and for all. We can kill them and destroy the entire planet to remove all evidence. I propose that we deliver the citizens to the Ghouls as repayment for what we owe them. That would give us a considerable amount of credit with them. We send twelve billion to the Ghouls, destroy the royal family and make sure that the planet no longer exists. There will then be no divided loyalty amongst our people,” the para overseer finished

The chairman nodded and thanked Mordrake then turned to Yestek Krimpt, Senior General of Intelligence. “Krimpt please tell us what you know and what has been happening in your areas?”

“Overseer, we need to take decisive action following our recent setback. Duke Kargo is emerging as an important leader. We need to kill him. He is the glue keeping the alliance together. He is a festering pustule waiting to be pierced. He does not appear to take an active military role. He attends university and is a nephew of the Emperor,” said Krimpt.

“Why then is he such a problem, Krimpt?” asked the Chairman.

“This is not easy to establish. He is a playboy preoccupied with women whose greatest pleasure in life is spreading himself as widely as he possibly can. He is a man who is preoccupied with himself and his celebrity. He has little substance from what we see from his media interviews but basks in the reflected glory of those superficial individuals who’ve attached themselves to him. He is well-regarded in the Collective as well as in both Empires. Undoubtedly, he is a personable individual who is able to convince others that he can be their friend. We struggle to find the substance behind the image. He is a young man who entered the Empire from a primitive planet. When he boarded the battleship to travel to the Empire, he was a frail physical wreck. We can only assume it was from his excessive behaviors. After a period of isolation and contemplation he again involved himself with many women. He took an interest in trying to reverse the work of the priests on the Ship AI. The priests tell us that he did not have a crystal and his efforts to thwart them were pathetic. They thought he did not have any slots. They were never impressed with him. We have heard it said Kargo sees himself as an apprentice warlord. I find this arrogance laughable. We believe that he was saved from capture by the priests by Adm. Kane and Gen. Morgan James who betrayed the priests and captured the fleet of the priests. They then attacked the planet of priests. This cut us off from a major source of intelligence and influence within the Empire.

“This dissipated young man was befriended by our arch enemies the Collective who inexplicably appeared to develop an interest in mammalian behavior, fashion and food preparation. We believe that the Archduke was used as a front for the cunning Emperor Cassius and the sly Ouma Chatzke to work together. Emperor Cassius appears to have mended his relationship with The Mob and the Jumo Empire has joined the evil axis. We do not have information as to how the Dinosaurs, the Warriors and Hounds of the Apocalypse and the Boars became involved and joined the enemy along with the Orcs. We know that we antagonized the Boars and the Orcs, by pretending to be the ancients with whom they previously fought, but that is not a good enough reason for them to join our enemies,” replied Yestek Krimpt.

“We suggest we target the Archduke. He is vulnerable and he may have more influence than we can establish. We think he has possibly been trying to fool us and is more able than he appears on investigation. To this end we have captured the parents of one of his group and we are holding them hostage. We are not entirely sure how we will use them yet, but we know that we will be able to obtain significant leverage when we need it. We have also activated agents within the Collective and agents within both Empires in order to await the opportunity to assassinate the leaders. We do not know where the Warriors of the Apocalypse reside and we cannot target them, nor can we target the Orcs. The Dinosaurs represent an intractable problem for us. Infiltrating their kingdom is well-nigh impossible. They have previously led an entirely isolated existence and they have a low trust for outsiders. We cannot create spies to infiltrate the kingdom. They are apparently not interested in trade with external groups, empires, or with anyone that they do not know well.

“We are attempting to find out who the ancient people, the Porquenta are. They are clearly a subtly hidden ancient group of great potency and danger to us. They do not appear to have their own ships and they keep very much to the background as do the Ghouls. We have also heard rumors of a further ancient people called the Mars who are beginning to be involved in the background. We are finding this sudden appearance of ancient peoples difficult to understand. Their motivations remain obscure to us and mysterious to our allies. The Jellyfish/Slugs are prepared to share information with us as we share with them and they are nonplussed by the current turn of events. They previously warned us of the Dinosaurs who are in their galaxy Albos. They told us that they have been unable to find strategies to infiltrate them as they are so different. They made many attempts over millions of years without success,” continued Krimpt.

“One of our contacts within the University has informed us that the young Archduke Playboy is required to undertake a practical computer task within a company and has been sent to one of the Information AI consultancies with whom we have extensive contact. He will be there in the next few weeks. This company was previously owned by the priests. The company has facilitated the entry of many of our people into the Empire. We have a very long-established relationship. Since the debacle on Nirvana, the company is now owned by the young Archduke even though he may not immediately be aware of this fact. The company actively provides us with people from within the Empire to supply to our friends the Ghouls. They have done this for us for a very long time. The Chief Executive of the company Abel Satora has worked with us for hundreds of years. He is very cooperative and a pragmatic businessman. He will be delighted I am sure to help us with the troublesome young Archduke. He also supplies people to the people of Dhoom who I understand also furnish some of their allocation to the Slug/Jellyfish people.

“We now know that the people of Dhoom are attempting to transfer their consciousness to mammals so that they may become surface dwellers as are we. We have also discovered that the Jellyfish are attempting to adapt themselves to attach to mammals as the Slugs are insisting to regain their independence. Their mutual agreement will terminate in the not-too-distant future. For both the Jellyfish and the Dhoom, the mammalian form is much more suitable than any form of insect. This is not an area where I can say that I have a great degree of expertise but these are the facts as I know them.

“Overseer I need your permission and ratification to proceed against the young Archduke and if the opportunities present themselves to assassinate the Emperor Cassius and Emperor Felix. I need permission to activate our operatives to assassinate Ouma Chatzke,” requested Yestek Krimpt as he finished his briefing.

“As overseer I grant you permission to proceed with your tasks as you have defined.”

Office of Abel Satora, CEO, DataSolutions CC:

“Abel it is good to see you after such a long time,” said Yicht Zargat. “Your quality and rate of supply has been excellent in the last five months and we have found it a pleasure to do business with you. Our clients have been pleased with your reliable service.”

“Somehow, I am beginning to suspect there is something unpleasant you’re going to tell me,” said Abel Satora.

Yicht Zargat nodded his head and said, “Sadly, that is true. You are to receive students from the University. Every year students undertake assignments within your company. The current group has the young Archduke Jason Kargo who owns this company, though I suspect he does not know that fact. He is a septic thorn in our side and is due to start on you. We suspect that they are sending him here to investigate your activities while undertaking a project that will interfere with ours. His project could have the potential to interfere with the entry of our people into the Empire. If they find irregularities it may adversely impact you and your reputation and even excite the interest of the dreaded Internal Intelligence division. They have exposed several of our operations already and thwarted our efforts here. There is the possibility that they will be able to track more of our people who have entered the Empire with your help. For us that will be a very unfortunate event, for you, it is a personal and business disaster. We wish to accelerate the entry of our people into the Empire as the young Archduke has led to serious setbacks in our plans.”

“I have indeed looked through the groups, but I did not see any member of the Kargo family. The young Archduke who you referred to does own this company and I hold him responsible for the demise of my predecessor the illustrious Bishop Percival McGrew. May he rest in peace. He and his assistants were taken away never to be seen again. Several others were also purged from the organization, but fortunately I managed to keep my nose clean. They have no idea of my links to the Bishop and the business units I ran. That was fortunate for both of us. Let me put up the lists and let’s look at the group and see who we can identify.” said Abel Satora, grinning.

“He goes by the name Jason Cannon, the pseudonym recommended by the Emperor, so he would not have a direct link to royalty and he could hide himself within the University and do the bidding of the Emperor, and regrettably also the bidding of the Collective. There he is, at the top of the list. For reasons that we do not know he has been very popular in the Collective. He is popular here in the Empire and mysteriously is in line to be the Emperor of the Jumo Empire. There are two distinct and separate groups who are working together on this project. Both of those groups are intelligent, determined and capable young people and we recommend that you do not underestimate them and their abilities. You have to assume that they are acting as a front for investigations into you and your organization. It may well be less than we are anticipating, but the danger to you and to us is very real.” said Yicht Zargat the Coven Emissary.

“What do you suggest that I might do?” Abel Satora asked.

Yicht Zargat replied, “I suggest that you observe them, establish their purpose, then capture them, if you can and if you cannot, kill them. The young Archduke needs to die, and my preference would be an accident. I am indifferent to the fate of the others, but if they represent a danger and I suspect that they do, they must be terminated or captured. We will be happy to take them off your hands. I will provide you with a contact who can assist you.”

“I have received the signal that my ship is loaded and ready to go. The cargo is as you promised and my crew informed me that the quality is excellent. Thank you very much. Doing business with you has been a pleasure as usual. Our cargo ship will return in approximately six weeks.” Yicht Zargat said smiling.

Research Station Mara:

Parayekt Yang, the director of the research station addressed the gathering of mixed Octopi and Slugs with attached Jellyfish known as the Grork.

“Today we are all gathered together to celebrate our recent triumphant achievements. We have acquired twelve thousand subjects from four mental hospitals and two prisons. Our subjects assure us that this group was falsely kept hostage in these facilities for political reasons and they will happily cooperate with us in our endeavors. We believe that we have boosted our future public relations by fighting on the side of the oppressed who have been incarcerated or forced into the streets.

“Our covert operations were successful and we have not been detected. We had one unfortunate incident when Earth naval ships collided with our shield. The Navy believe that they collided with an enemy submarine and have made a diplomatic protest.

“We have also reached a new objective in our research. We transferred the consciousness of one of our Dhoom colleagues to subject Alpha-Beta-2, who informed us that she was incarcerated on the basis of allegedly suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, which she assured us was entirely false. She assured us that this was entirely political and she would be happy to work together with us.

“At the same time, we have an established bond that has been created between one of our scientists and a gentleman of a brownbag who tells us that his name is John. He says that he was ejected for no reason from his family and was forced to live on the streets. He informs us that the basis of this was societal prejudice against those who are devotees of the bottle. He said he has no choice as he requires the bottle for his ongoing well-being.

“There is no evidence of an ongoing immune rejection and we believe that we have achieved genetic compatibility. Scientist-427 believes that he has established a very satisfactory bond and he feels happier than he has been previously. He strongly recommends those of the bottle as being excellent options for us as we can control the use of the bottle as a motivating factor. We can make the contents of the bottles with ease, so supply of the contents is not an issue.

“We are intending to target similar facilities throughout the United States and South America in order to obtain subjects for our respective peoples. We have noted that we Grork do well with those of the bottle and have a renewed interest in procreation which we have not had for a million years. I am proud to say that we will have our first birth at this facility in seven months,” finished Parayekt.

There was a loud cheer.

“We will do a transfer of consciousness of ten thousand Octopi over the next six months. This is a great day. We meet again at the same time next month.” Parayekt Yang informed the group.

“Greetings, Dr Tovar!”

“Greetings to you, Dr Carmon.”

“What did you think of that blathering idiot this morning?”

“This exercise is a disaster! Tovar, you have been very clever to ensure his family and the ruling families of the Octopi are the first great participants in this grand plan! They listen to no one. Let them and their groups be the ones to face the consequences of living with addiction and with severe mental illness. He told me these are problems we have long since overcome and our treatment is superior. It may be true for the past, but with these humans we have to learn about them from first principals. When you start with defective material you land up with an unstable result. We rejected such material in the past but now with the war anything will do. Both groups have brain damage that we cannot fix, he knows it but wants outcomes.

“What is happening back home?” asked Dr Carmon.

“I can understand the problem, Carmon. We do not have enough viable hosts to run our ships even with the AIs. Many are in stasis. These are times of desperation. We lost a whole fleet and nearly twenty percent of our remaining functioning group. These my friends are times of gloom and despair,” replied Tovar.

“I understand, Tovar and what of the Dhoom?”

“Let me begin at the beginning. As you are no doubt aware the Dhoom Octopi assembled a fleet that they regarded as more than enough to overcome all planetary opposition of the Collective. When the Coven fleet arrived, our fleet informed us that it was a massive fleet and for the first time we saw ten massive ships that our intelligence had never seen previously, though there had been rumors that two such ships were captured at Beeliar. The Dhoom brought along their own moon size ship we have been helping them build. Our own fleet remained near the second Gas Giant in the solar system and was cloaked with our newest technology. That fleet was intending to come our way to supply us with a hundred thousand of our Grork brethren who have been in stasis. Our fleet was entirely hidden we believed and we intended only to observe. Adm. Kasch did not want to put his fleet at risk particularly as they were carrying such precious cargo.

“Adm. Kasch observed the Coven fleet slow down, then the Dhoom fleet also slowed down. Kasch informed the Dhoom fleet that the reason that the Coven fleet slowed was due to a device that had trapped them. The Dhoom then speeded up to attack the planet, while the Coven fleet was pounded by the enemy and seventy five percent was lost. The Dhoom launched landing craft and were able to send thirty-seven million troops and equipment towards the planet. The Dhoom fleet was trapped by the same system that previously trapped the Cockroaches. While they were heroically fighting, the Parzool Tyrannosaurs located us and destroyed every ship of our fleet. Our sensors remained in place. The Dhoom fleet was destroyed or captured other than one or two small ships.

“The enemy fleets reinforced the ground forces and repulsed every single attack. The enemy were highly successful. I know that we gave the best of our weapons and the ability to manufacture them to the Dhoom Octopi, our best shields and latest cannon and still it was not enough. The Dhoom would have made good headway with the Cockroaches if they were only fighting a single enemy. There is a major witch-hunt going on at home. From what we saw according to my cousin, many of our ships were boarded and many of our people captured. The Dinosaurs were not able to get onto our ships, but the Bugs certainly were and have captured many of our people. This now raises concerns as they can interrogate our people in stasis and also gain access to our technology and equipment. There is every chance that despite all of our precautions they will be able to find us.

“We now have concerns they can attack us in Universe Bekta-Delta. So far, the only ones who can travel to different universes are the Parzool Tyrannosauruses, but they can easily provide the technology to the others. I hanker for Norbut-18 our home Universe but our time there is over. I accept we had to move but I wish we could find a suitable host.

“The saddest part of it all is that the director is going to be even more paranoid about taking people overtly from the streets. He is terrified of alerting that criminal Lord Kargo to our presence. This was after all his planet of origin and he is known to ferociously hunt down his enemies. The humans do not even know that these institutions have been compromised and we are still acquiring people daily. Our people are patient and they will be prepared to continue to live in those organizations until we are ready to make our moves. This is a dangerous and desperate step, the risks, as far as I can see are unacceptable, but our masters insist on carrying on with this folly. I can only foresee disaster,” finished Dr Tovar, looking depressed.

One of Jason’s Carriers in the Fleet near Charassa:

Jason and his two university groups sat around a large table that dominated the room. The room was sumptuously furnished with paneled walls and landscape paintings on the walls. There were two large sculptures, one of the Emperor and another of the Empress behind the head of the table where Jason sat.

“I haven’t had a chance to speak to you guys for a couple of days and I apologize. The war has unfortunately interfered with our plans, but we should now be back on track. After the function in the great Hall, I went to meet with Ouma Chatzke and Emperor Cassius. They would like us to continue as planned and go to Porquenta and then to Earth and finally back to the University to finish our project. Apparently, the Empress has some ideas about what we might do next, but it is unlikely that we will simply continue with our studies as planned previously since the University is restructuring and we have also completed all of our studies.

“I have agreed to a two-day diversion to Nobatia which is the home of Philippa. She believes that I can contribute to morale and I have agreed. I would then go directly to Earth. Nobatia is on the way back to Porquenta. Those of you who wish to stay here while I am in Nobatia can do so and those who wish to see Nobatia can come with me. I understand the family compound has plenty of accommodation and they have absolutely no difficulty in accommodating us. Nobatia is interesting to visit, but I am going to visit weapons production facilities with my good lady. You of course are welcome to visit these facilities along with us and I for one would welcome all of you.

That was a preview of Saving the Coven Royals Book 4 in the series the Warlord and the Multiverse. To read the rest purchase the book.

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