The Real Crusade
The young boy’s serious face appears on the screen, the image slightly fuzzy with interference from the gravity wings that have formed a cocoon around Anhur-Shu.
“There is no need for such caution. I will not harm you.” The boy concentrates on me; I can feel him extending his mind, attempting to lock on to my position.
“That would be great, but if you would be quick about it… what do you have to say?” I reply.
“There is no need for pointless conflict. Enough of my countrymen have died today. Surely you do not wish to have any more blood staining your hands.”
“My hands are already plenty filthy as it is. A million more lives won’t make a difference.”
“How can you treat life with so little care?” frets Adrahasis.
“We did warn you that there would be blood spilled if you did not come to the negotiating table. Didn’t expect it to be yours, eh? Anyway, let’s get straight to the point, shall we?”
“Very well,” sighs the boy, composing himself. “First, I will inform you of our goals on this campaign. You know that it is a crusade meant to take Earth, but I do not think you know the true reason behind it. We do not have time to explain it in detail. To be brief, the Emperor requires the last Gieloth to complete himself and turn Earth into a portal.”
“A portal to the ones that created this universe?” I venture.
“Yes. You are surprisingly informed.” Adrahasis makes a slight bow. “The Star League have been forthcoming with information, I presume?”
“Something like that,” I wave my hand at him. “Carry on.”
“The ultimate goal of the Crusade is not Earth. I would have required just thirty thousand vessels to break the League’s defensive cordon. They do not prioritize this sector of space much anymore. Given your defensive capabilities, a mere five thousand ships would have conquered Earth easily.”
“That was before you encountered us, right?”
“You are correct; the robot you pilot was not in my calculations. But as I said, we did not throw every last ship we have at Earth in order to conquer it. We did not expect any more than token resistance.”
“Every…” Well, this is bad. The standing force of the Imperial navy is estimated to be at over four hundred thousand warships. If he truly meant every last ship, that included a hundred thousand more ships in reserve, according to Mere’s numbers. I lean back and think to my AI. “Yua, tap the communications satellites at Jupiter. Let me know what is going on there.”
“It will take four hours to establish the communication, Master. After that, we will constantly be two hours behind.”
“What if you route it through a quantum wormhole?”
“It’ll cut the lag to seconds, but my processing capabilities aren’t powerful enough for that. Sorry.”
“I’ll deal with the advanced algorithms, just get working on it. You have permission to tap into my brain.”
“Can I? Really?” She sounds overly excited for what I just said.
“Yes, yes you can. Just don’t get carried away. Hurry.” I turn my attention back to Adrahasis, who is smiling faintly. Bastard. There is a slight jolt at the back of my mind as Yua connects to it; I suppress the sensation and focus on talking to Adrahasis. “If you don’t need the fleet for Earth, surely you don’t mean to use it to challenge the Masters?”
“Masters? Ah, yes, that is what the Star League calls them. You are correct. Earth happens to have had a strong connection to their dimension once. Once the Emperor regains his full strength by consuming the last Gieloth, he will be able to turn the planet into a gateway. The one at the center of the galaxy is too well-defended from the other end for us to mount an assault. It took me the better part of a month to organize the fleet movements under the Star League’s noses, but it paid off when they took the bait.“
“What happens to the people of Earth when you transform the planet, then?”
“They would not survive the transformation. That is what I want to negotiate. Hand the Gieloth over and we will help with the evacuation of all of Earth’s population. We have no real quarrel with you.”
“The Emperor was talking about ruling Earth. What you are saying does not jive with his words.”
“Ah, that.” The boy’s smile turns wan. “That is a result of him… it… playing the role of an Emperor. In its mind, whether from a remnant of its host’s thoughts or an idea it obtained from somewhere, it has created for itself the impression that an Emperor is one that conquers and rules, a larger-than-life figurehead that takes many concubines and protects his people, serving as an exemplar for them to follow. Of course, once he has conquered the planet, there is nothing stopping him from turning it into a portal. It would be his property, after all. But make no mistake, underneath all of that play-acting lies a being with only one overriding objective in mind – to enter the domain of the gods and devour them. It does not truly care for anything else, no matter what it says. It cannot be negotiated with; it expects you only to bow, but should we present it with a solution when he recovers from his regenerative stupor it would accept as long as its ultimate goal is served. The entity may be somewhat temperamental, but not vengeful. That is part of the role it plays – as the Emperor, he is also supposed to be magnanimous and generous.”
Regenerative stupor, eh?
“Why are you even helping him? He sounds rather flaky.”
“Because we deserve our freedom.” Adrahasis’s eyes blaze fiercely. “This game has been rigged from the start to favour the formation of the League and its eventual victory. The ‘Masters’ are looking for a result that suits only them. We cannot let that happen. So, what will you decide? Will you assist us in reaching a compromise?”
“Master, I have the reports from Jupiter,” whispers Yua urgently. “Imperial ships are dropping out of slipspace by the hundreds. The flow shows no sign of ending.”
Well, that's one thing confirmed. I grin at Adrahasis’s image. “I cannot promise you anything. I can’t speak for the Gieloth in question – she is her own person.”
“I do not need you to guarantee success, butI am afraid that if you refuse to help us I will be forced to end your threat to our plans. It is a pity, but...” He gestures offscreen. A few seconds later, it is as if a shroud falls away from around Anhur-Shu, revealing ten thousand ships cutting off every route of escape I might have – probably the same ten thousand he claimed to have sent on their way to Earth. I didn’t know they had cloaking technology that was so efficient - even with my heightened senses and sensor package, we could not detect their approach. They had probably gotten into position while I was distracted by Adrahasis.
Rei frowns and reaches for the controls. “Brother, should I-“
“The moment your robot tries to escape, they have orders to unload a full salvo on top of you,” warns Adrahasis.
“That is really cruel, master tactician,” I say. “Coercing a promise like this means nothing if I go back on my word, you know.”
“That is right. Which is why I will institute a mind pact with you. We will both commit to the terms that I have stated. If either of us breaks our word, or if the pact is tampered in any way, our brains will be fried in our skull.” I wonder if I will be able to break the pact safely with my abilities, though it sounds too risky to try.
“The terms you have stated? This is not negotiation.”
“It is not, “ he agrees. “However, hard times call for hard measures. I am holding the advantage in this conversation and thus have the right to dictate terms. I am sorry, but this is for the sake of your planet too. I would really like to have your power at our side against the creators, but I will be satisfied if you just stay out of our way. The rest of the Crusade fleet will hold at Jupiter until the Emperor and I arrive. That should take at least two more weeks now. I hope you will be able to bring me the Gieloth by then.”
I laugh.
“What is so funny?” frowns Adrahasis.
“You have the advantage?” I suppress a giggle as I fold back the gravity wings, revealing the fully-charged black orb at the center of Anhur-Shu’s chest that I had been hiding. It’s been in preparation for a while. Tracing the mental strings that tie Adrahasis to me, I recite the coordinates that it comes from out loud. Adrahasis’s face turns pale.
“If I even see a hint of a turret getting ready to fire upon me, you can enjoy the rest of your eternal life entombed in a black hole.” I say.
“I… see. Very well. What do you want then? We should hurry and reach a conclusion soon,” sighs Adrahasis. “The Emperor will awaken very shortly. I cannot guarantee your safety from him if you are still resisting us then."
***
If I fire the black hole cannon now, I won’t be able to make any long-range jumps for a day. I will have to retreat via conventional means until I have lost them and the engines have regained enough power.
A. I fire the black hole cannon anyway. If they’re foolish enough to let me charge it, I should use it.
1. I fire it at Adrahasis. That little brat deserves what’s coming.
2. I fire it at Uranus. If the dragon is still in a regenerative stupor, it should not be able to defend itself from my attack.
B. I do not fire the black hole cannon out of multiple considerations.
1. I agree to Adrahasis’s terms, minus the mind pact, and warp out of there as soon as I can. I need to discuss this with Sekhenun. I can always break my promise later on.
2. I insist on new terms of my own (player-made) and then go with the mind pact to ensure Adrahasis will follow through.
