”Some civilians often wonder why there is so much uncharted space in our galaxy. Their question stems from a few facts. First of all, the galaxy is home to hundreds of known space-faring races, albeit some of these races are known only by name. Each of these races, with the exception of three, controls at the very least a handful of star systems and nearly all of the races have much more than that. The majority of races also have a dozen or more colonies and at least twice that number in systems they use either as strategic assets or as sources of various natural resources. Another factor that confuses the civilians is the fact that the multitude of races often wage war over these systems. After all, if there’s a lot of unexplored territory in space, why bother fighting over a couple of systems?

The main problem with this kind of thinking is that most people just can’t comprehend just how vast space really is. Our galaxy is home to over 300 billion stars. The current number of intelligent races is likely only a small portion of those that are really out there. In fact, the current intelligent races are all located in what could be described as roughly a quarter, or a quadrant, of the galaxy. There could be enormous empires out there and we would have no way of knowing about them. The humans are the perfect example. They grew into a formidable force and colonized an entire spiral arm of the galaxy before other races ran into them, and this just because they were located in a remote corner of the galaxy. The core regions of the galaxy are better charted but even there the natural topography of phase space makes exploration in certain directions a dangerous proposal.”

- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww

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Moonshadow’s hologram winked into existence and joined the hundreds of others like her present in the large circular room. In reality, she was on her ship, utilizing a room designed for such conferencing. Many of the important officials of the Mrrroww had such rooms on their ships for emergency situations like this. When something alarming happened, there was no time to wait for all of them to arrive in the headquarters of the High Command, nor was it very convenient for some of the attendees to travel. It was a testament to Mrrroww technology that they could arrange real-time communications like this over all their systems, and even for them, it was reserved for official use only. The ability to communicate often decided the outcome of wars and their race had taken that maxim to heart.

A very regal looking male of the Lion tribe in the uniform of the Mrrroww fleet took charge of the meeting. He was one of the Primaris of the High Command. “Ladies and gentlecats, I’m sure you’ve all heard some of the news by now. Shadowdell has fallen and all communications with the planet have been cut. We’ve even lost contact with Deity Kurnau who was on the planet when the attack hit. According to our sources, she was on the planet’s surface visiting relatives and could only take a limited part in the battle itself before it was over. It is likely that she led the resistance on the ground once the battle in space was lost but we have no way to tell what happened to her once we lost contact.”

A Lynx tribe female sporting the telltale halo above her head interjected. “Deity Kurnau was known for her talent in combat and has the gift of communicating over large distances telepathically. If she could contact us, she would’ve done so by now. Either she is unable to do so because she is trying to hide, or she is dead despite her talents. Either way, the situation on the ground is not looking good.”

“As we have no connection inside the system, we can’t get much in the way of detailed information but we estimate that the majority of the planet has already fallen to the invaders. It’s going to take the Shinzen some time to subdue resistance completely, but one thing those bastards are good at is fighting on the ground.” The Lion tribe Primaris continued.

“What I want to know is, how did they get past the defensive line in the first place? A large portion of our fleet in the area was stationed on the defensive line for a purpose.” One of the multiple holographic participants asked. Moonshadow couldn’t quite see who from her position, but the question was something she had anticipated. She had asked the same thing after all.

“As to that, High Ambassador Moonshadow has a theory.” The Primaris indicated towards her with his paw.

Moonshadow briefly explained the information she had gotten from Selendil and described her source as well. “In the end, I can’t be sure if the information is accurate, but it fits what we know and she has no apparent reason to lie. I’m inclined to believe her.”

Her words sparked discussion among the participants. Phase space inhibitors were an important part of their defensive strategy, as it allowed them to avoid damage to the inhabited worlds, and this new information reduced their reliability by a large margin. There were also some vested interests involved that made certain people unwilling to accept the information, but they didn't voice their concerns too loudly due to the Shinzen being a rather pointed example of their strategy failing. In the end, though, the various parties were somewhat mollified by the fact that most races did not have the ability to bypass the inhibitors so the tactic had not become entirely useless. The Dawn Collective were an example of that.

"Returning to the matter of Shadowdell, we have reviewed the footage and there are three important factors that we must address. The first problem is the sheer number of high-quality ships the Shinzen were using in this attack. We have gone through decades of data that we have gathered on the Shinzen and we have never seen anything on this level. The ships also displayed an unprecedented level of coordination and increased reaction times. It lends credence to the theory that the Shinzen are controlled at least partially by something akin to a hive mind, and in this case whatever controls them might have been present in the battle itself.” The Primaris explained.

“That might also present an opportunity.” A General from the Tiger tribe interjected. “If whatever is controlling them is present in the battle, then that makes it vulnerable. We might be able to strike at that something. I do not know what the effects of removing the controlling force would be, but I suspect it would be to our advantage.”

“Agreed. Our best are already analyzing the movements of the Shinzen fleet, trying to estimate the location of this commanding force.” The Lynx tribe Deity stated. In addition to leading the psions of the fleet, she was also often called upon to do complex tactical analysis. The minds of psions often worked faster than normal people, which made such analysis easier.

The Primaris waved his paw and a recording of the battle was projected in the center of the room. On the projection, they could see several large objects that looked like asteroids. "The second problem is this. Apparently, the Shinzen have come up with a new strategy. They are using modified large asteroids as makeshift vessels. They have basically turned giant asteroids into enormous ships, or mobile space stations. The asteroids themselves aren't really the issue, although destroying something that large could be problematic without serious firepower. Yet despite this, the asteroids are mostly just large floating rocks with engines attached. The real problem is that the Shinzen are using these asteroids as enormous carriers."

Another image was projected, showing countless small beings flying out of the asteroid. “Now, these creatures the asteroids are launching are not individually dangerous. A single standard mech or a fighter can match a dozen of them easily, but the problem is that each asteroid holds millions of the damn things. They are, in basic terms, some sort of creatures capable of surviving and flying in the vacuum of space, and they have a single weapon that launches some corrosive ammunition. As I said, they are not individually all that effective, but with millions of them attacking at the same time it wouldn't matter if they were just throwing rocks at us. Quantity has a quality all its own. They are also fully capable of focusing fire on a single target at a time, overwhelming its defenses. And here’s the worst part, these beings seem to be able to operate in the atmosphere of planets as well. We've designated these asteroids with the name ‘Hive' for now. According to reports, there were at least twelve such Hives present in the battle."

“I’m assuming these Hives and flying creatures are also capable of coordinating with the more advanced vessels of their fleet?” The Tiger tribe General asked.

“Our information on that is limited, but we must assume so. There’s something else worth noting. These Hives still retain the enormous mass of the asteroids. If they use those engines with the intention of ramming, any stationary or slow target is at great risk. With the way the Shinzen seem to operate, it would not surprise me if they used a Hive as a sacrifice to get rid of some of our most powerful orbital defenses. The other Hives could likely take in the surviving flyers.” Another hologram interjected. This one Moonshadow recognized as the Admiral in charge of the defense of the area Shadowdell used to be part of. So in theory, that made him the Admiral responsible for the loss of the planet. Not that anyone was throwing around accusations, as this had taken all of them by surprise.

“This is a rather radical shift in doctrine. It will take time to adjust.” One of the admirals commented, and for a good reason. The developments in technology and void shields favored singular powerful ships and lower numbers in general. As such, most of the Mrrroww weapon systems were designed with maximal firepower against single targets in mind. Conversely, those same weapons were not very good at dealing with millions of small flying beings.

“And we’re not done. There’s still the third factor that might turn out to be the most important. The Shinzen have brought another new surprise for us. Several beings that could rival high ranked Deities in power took part in the attack. These beings were using something akin to our mechs, but they varied vastly in size and methods. One fired some weird energy weapons at our ships that seemed to be gravity based, while another charged straight at our ships and seemed to rip right through them. We can’t fully understand how they operated as our own psions were locked in combat with a third being that attacked their minds directly. Even though some of our psions managed to escape when our ships retreated, they have very little recollection of the battle itself. We can’t even tell how many of these beings there were, but we can say at least three, likely four.” The Primaris finished his explanation.

“We’ve never even heard rumors of the Shinzen using individuals with the power to match Deities. The strongest so far have been on the edge of a Deity. It’s a rather large escalation of hostilities from them to suddenly involve high-ranking Deities in a battle. And the Shinzen used several in a single battle. This has confirmed what I suspected. The Shinzen are attacking us intent on winning. And they don't seem to have just a border conflict in mind either." Moonshadow suddenly stated her opinion. "Additionally, the movements of the Dawn Collective are concerning, to say the least. I suspect it's not an accident these two races attacked us simultaneously."

“Two races that have never taken part in diplomacy suddenly making an alliance seems a little odd though.” One of the holograms behind her pointed out.

“I don’t disagree, but they might not actually be allied. The Dawn Collective attacked us first albeit with less intensity. I suspect the Shinzen were aware of the attack and simply coordinated theirs to match.” Moonshadow countered.

“Does it make a difference though?” One of the admirals asked in frustration.

“It might, or it might not. At the very least, if they’re not allied then they are not working in concert with each other and coordinating their actions perfectly. They might also end up fighting with one another if their fleets meet. Whether we can take advantage of that is another matter.” Moonshadow said noncommittally. Orchestrating such a meeting might be too difficult to pull off in practice. They had done it before, but that made it harder to do so again. In any case, although Moonshadow had the rank to influence such things, it was the High Command that made the decisions in the end. And now they had a war to wage

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A long but thin ship with three large fin-like shapes protruding from the aft section suddenly appeared out of one of the phase gates near the Haven station. The gates were large and circular constructs that seemed to be creating a tunnel of weird twisted space in the center. The gates formed stable phase lanes that allowed even ships without phase drives to travel between star systems. Their construction was expensive and required a lot of work, but most of the really advanced races had the capability.

The new ship was shaped roughly like a round spearhead, with several weapon emplacements forming small bulbs on the outer armor. The three fins jutted out from the aft section in a triangular fashion, giving the ship a sleek and agile impression despite its rather large size. An impression that was quite accurate. “Your Majesty, we have arrived.” The Handmaiden piloting the vessel announced.

“Well, at least there’s one good thing about traveling towards the Haven. The gates make the whole trip a whole lot faster.” Amaterasu stated mostly to herself.

She wasn’t exactly pleased to be here though. Illum’s relationship with the place was strenuous at best. As a proof of this, the station's traffic controllers were already contacting their ship and several defensive vessels had left their berths just in case. The Handmaiden in charge of communications was already placating the controllers and fobbing off any questions pertaining to their purpose in the system. They were not about to explain the reason they were here, and even though the controller seemed to disagree, they were not obligated to do so either. This proved to be true as the station itself seemed to weigh in by messaging both parties that everyone was welcome on the station unless they acted with hostility, in which case they would be eliminated.

Amaterasu had to give a small grin at that. Even though the Mrrroww liked to pretend otherwise, they were not in control of the station. The station had been built by the Progenitors and they were the only ones worthy of truly controlling it. It wasn't even the Mrrroww that wanted to make trouble either. The controller had sounded like a member of one of the other races, likely one that had lost some worlds to the humans during their expansion.

That was one of the reasons Amaterasu disliked being here. Much of the bad blood seemed to stem from a handful of erroneous assumptions. Humanity had expanded outwards from the spiral arm of the galaxy they inhabited, and some of the other races had run afoul of that expansion. Humanity, or more precisely the Tetrarchy, had been a bit drunk on their earlier successes and rather large holdings. As a result, they had not really cared about the protestations of the other races during their expansion. By this time the humans had already split into three factions, although the Cybrans leaving had been a new development.

The problem was that to other races a human was a human. It didn’t matter that it was mostly the Tetrarchy that had expanded into the territory of other races, and that Illum was actually fighting against the Tetrarchy. They all looked like humans to the other races. Even though the other races realized that the three factions of humanity had become separated, they still considered all three part of the same race. They also worried about the fact that if the three factions of humanity ever combined, then the territory they controlled made for a rather large and powerful empire. A potentially hostile one at that.

The matter wasn’t helped by the fact that the Illum and Cybrans weren’t exactly blameless either. As they had separated from the Tetrarchy, they had to create their own power base in areas not controlled by the rest of humanity. As they both were situated on the rim, that meant that most of the territory they grabbed was unused and uninhabited. Most, but not all. The Illum had been fairly careful in their expansion, but they had still ruffled some feathers. To the other races in the area, this was enough proof that they were not different from their Tetrarchy counterparts. Even the races they had not offended blamed the aggression of Tetrarchy on Illum as well.

As they were now in the Haven system, she could get a more accurate read on Miyo's location. For some reason, the whole process of trying to locate Miyo had suddenly become much easier soon after she had used the Progenitor focus. She wasn’t sure why, but she was thankful as otherwise the whole thing would’ve been quite problematic. With a map of the nearby space, she pointed at a certain place with her finger. Her finger was pointing at a nebula not that far from the station. Amaterasu was actually a little glad that she wasn’t pointing at the station, as that would mean Miyo was not on the Progenitor ship anymore.

“Your Majesty, that might be a problem.” The Handmaiden manning the science station suddenly stated. “The scans show that the nebula is highly corrosive. I don’t think the ship can survive inside for very long.”

That made Amaterasu frown. On one hand it made sense. If the Progenitor vessel wanted to stay hidden, then a nebula others could not enter would be the perfect hiding place. The downside was of course that while the others could not get access to the ship, neither could they. That also suggested that Miyo was still on the ship. If normal ships like theirs could not enter, then it required something out of the ordinary, like the Progenitor ship. It also eliminated the possibility of Miyo’s corpse being tossed into space as it would’ve corroded in minutes.

That left an obvious question though. Why was the ship here? “Head for the station. We need more information. If we can’t enter the nebula, we need to find someone who can take us.” She could protect the ship with her psionics for a short time, but it was likely they would need more than just a bit of time for whatever they needed to do.