Well, B2 victory. I'm assuming the six month time limit.
***
The Mission
“So, now that everyone’s here, shall we begin? I’ll be taking the minutes for today.” says Emiri, twirling a pen between her fingers.
Thanks to the stable black hole where Uranus used to be, and some quick negotiations with Adrahasis, the Imperial Crusade into Earth territory was stopped in its tracks. It was definitely the sort of situation that warranted a meeting.
Rei, Emiri, Erec and Erika are present as my subordinates, although Erec would probably rather die than admit it – even if I don’t have an official rank, I’m being regarded as the leader of… well, something. People seem to listen to me nowadays. The newly minted President Iannes is here too, together with the Federation’s latest Chief of Staff, Admiral Harlsen. Besides him are Sekhenun and the Tree-Emperor, which is what I had taken to calling him in my mind after seeing him step out of one that sprouted almost spontaneously inside Sekhenun’s laboratory.
Pity. Having a dragon fight a tree would have been amusing to watch.
On the other side of the long table are Adrahasis and his twin sister, Adrasteia. Apparently they are rare offspring borne from a union between two immortals. Having had the chance to talk to Adrasteia on the way back she was definitely unlike her more thoughtful brother. Adrahasis tells me that she takes after their father. “That reminds me, I probably owe them a nice boat.” I hear the Tree-Emperor muttering to Sekhenun, glancing at the twin immortals.
“I suppose her flaming red hair is rather attractive. I’ll give her that. Now, please do your job.” whispers Kyrie icily in my ear as I feel a clammy hand on my neck. The first thing she’d manage to do upon regaining the ability to manifest again was catching me chatting with Adrasteia and her handmaidens. I didn’t know ghosts could kick so hard. I almost turn my head to speak to her, before catching myself. I’ll have to make it up to her later, in private.
Admiral Harlsen clears his throat, giving me the sort of odd glance you reserve for people who seem like they’re about to talk to empty space. “Can we start now?” he says, scratching his chin while casting a suspicious look over everyone at the table. I suppose we do make for an odd meeting – Iannes and the Admiral aside, no one here looks a day over 25, but the combined ages of some of the people here add up to thousands of years.
“Sorry, Admiral. I’m still a bit tired,” I try to smile. “Very well, let’s begin. I think we should hear from our new friends from the Empire. Lord Adrahasis, Lady Adrasteia, if you would?”
Adrahasis and his sister stand up and give a crisp salute after the Imperial fashion, which Harlsen matches with the Federation style.
“Thank you for having us here,” Adrahasis begins. “I believe everyone here has read the report that I wrote up on the true nature of our Crusade.”
Iannes nods. “You mean to say that these gods that the League believe in are real, and the Empire wants to slay them?”
“That is correct, Mr. President,” says Adrahasis smoothly, his mannerisms incongruent with his child-like appearance. It seems like he has done his homework. “Our Emperor was to have led us there, though it would have been at the cost of many Earthling lives. Sir Hoshikawa provided a rather persuasive counter-argument to our prior strategy, and so here we are.”
“Are the rest of your men alright with this?” asks Ean, the Tree-Emperor.
“I estimate 77% of the ships will follow my lead without question for now. Footage of Sir Hoshikawa’s battle with our Emperor have been spread throughout the fleet. They are rather impressed. As for the remainder, I am sad to say that we have some dissenting opinions who are preparing to return home now that the Emperor is inconvenienced for an indeterminate amount of time. They may be planning to establish fiefdoms of their own in the fragmenting Empire.”
I do the mental calculations in my head. That would work out to roughly a hundred thousand warships, perhaps more. It is a sizeable force, one that I would be loathe to give up for lost.
“Is there any way we can convert them?”
“I don’t see the point,” interjects Adrasteia. “They have rejected cooperation. Let me have a thousand ships and I will smash them before they can run.”
“You’re certainly very quick to attack your former comrades.” I say.
Adrasteia gives me a feral grin. “Let’s just say that there are some cowardly bastards there that I’ll enjoy killing.”
“Still, the resources that they hold are considerably valuable,” points out Sekhenun. “We will need every man and ship that we can get.”
Is it worth the risk to confront them, however?
***
A. Attack the uncooperative remnants of the Imperial fleet. Adrasteia and the Dunamis Clan will lead a boarding action to slaughter anyone who does not surrender. We need those ships and those supplies.
B. Allow them to go unharmed. Their return to Imperial space could serve to inconvenience the Star League instead. They will serve as a distraction.
***
“This matter aside, how do you plan on killing these gods you are talking about, if they do exist? How are we even getting there in the first place?” asks the Admiral.
Adrahasis turns his eyes on me. Well, I suppose I did promise. I turn my eyes towards Sekhenun, who lets out a sigh of annoyance.
“I will explain that matter. Now, the gateway to the dimension of these gods… the Masters, if you will, exists in a heavily guarded sector at the center of the galactic core. The Imperial Crusade aimed to turn Earth into an alternative entrance. Now, the Devourer’s method to do so, and the tool he would have used, are lost to us, no thanks to a certain hotshot. We do not have the knowledge nor the capability to turn Earth into another gateway to the Masters’ dimension.”
“A full frontal assault is suicide,” frowns Adrahasis. “There are billions of automated defense units guarding the gateway, each capable of destroying a planet. They will only allow passage for the victors of the game.”
“As I see it, the Masters have already decided that the Star League will win this game of theirs,” says Ean. “In that case, they will certainly do everything that they can to assist the Star League in achieving victory. In order to win the game, the Star League will be required to defeat us, their last standing opponent now that the Empire’s military is practically under our command.”
“The defeat can be diplomatic or military,” says Adrahasis. “If we surrender and bow to them it will also be considered their victory, granting them passage past the maze of defensive systems.”
“How automated are these systems? Can they be manipulated in any way?”
“As far I know, they will not respond to any commands; these at least are designed to be fair,” answers Adrahasis. “They will either shoot upon you, or recognize you as the victor and allow you to pass. Their victory recognition criteria is unchangeable, even for their creators. If not they would have sent these units against the Dragon Emperor long ago. Instead they attempted to defeat us via more manipulative means.”
“Gentlemen, all of this talk of getting to the gate is well and good, but how are we going to destroy these gods once we are there?” asks Iannes.
“Hunting them down one by one would be a hassle. Would our pact be fulfiled if I simply collapsed their entire dimension in on itself?” I turn to Adrahasis again.
He gives me a blank stare. “Yes, it would, but how do you talk about such terrible things so casually?”
“I have a rather different perspective from you, I suspect.” I grin. “So, there’s our method. I am confident that I can create a bomb that can wipe out their reality, beyond their ability to repair it. I would only require the Sun.”
“You’re going to turn the Sun into a bomb?” Multiple variations of this question are shouted towards me all at once.
“We don’t have the time to go out and get another star from under the League's noses.” I shrug. “I could use Jupiter, but it would not be anywhere near as lethal. Of course, that might be sufficient, but if you want to be very sure that they are all destroyed at once…”
***
In the end, we decide to:
A. Use the Sun to create a device powerful enough to collapse the Masters’ entire dimension into a singularity when it is detonated. There is no point half-assing total destruction.
B. Turn Jupiter into a bomb that is powerful enough to destroy a galaxy.
C. Keep our explosives in our pants and do things the hard way – we will sally through the gateway and take on the Masters in direct combat.
D. Try using wormholes to transport men and materials towards the nearest G-type main-sequence star in order to build the bomb there.
***
As for getting there;
A. Surrender. All we need is to get our people and equipment in place. It doesn’t matter whether we’re travelling with the Star League or over the flaming wrecks of their fleet.
B. Take on the Star League, head on. I find it unlikely that the Masters will like us winning, but once we defeat the League their systems will automatically recognize us as the winners of the game, allowing us passage.
C. Distract the League with our fleets while we attempt to infiltrate the gateway with a small, stealthy squad of elite units. This choice precludes the building of any bombs, however, as those devices will end up being too large for any stealth mission to work.
The terms of the agreement don't exclude Adrahasis then capturing us for the Emprah, or standing aside for the ensuing combat round 2.
