”The ebb and flow of war can behave in extremely odd ways at times. It is not uncommon for a war to either escalate slowly as both sides get geared for war, or to start off strong only to peter off towards the end as losses and war-weariness mount. Then there are the eternal feeling wars without resolution that run hot or cold depending on the situation and timing, as well as the long and slow and grinding wars of attrition that often combine with the eternal wars. Many factors can influence the ferocity of a war, and most of them are fairly easy to understand intertwined combinations of cause and effect. Sometimes the pace of a war can change without anyone really being able to figure out why. For instance, what happens when one party gears up for a defensive war, and the aggressor doesn’t show up?”

- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww

--------

“It seems your reports were once again proven accurate. The Dawn Collective’s vessels have all turned inert. It seems to have happened in waves over a few days, but now all those ships have ceased to function.” The Primaris explained their findings. “We have of course taken advantage of the situation. With the locations of the Collective’s shipyards and fleets that you provided, we’ve sent our own task forces to perform cleanup and pre-emptive strikes. How did you say the Progenitor achieved all this?”

“I didn’t.” Moonshadow replied with a hint of a smile. The Primaris was fishing, and she wasn’t biting.

“Eh. It was worth a shot. You said before that she has helped you develop your psionics tremendously, right? I seem to recall you saying something about her not minding a few more Mrrroww on the ship either? Do you think she would mind if we sent a few of our Deities on board so that they too can improve their strength? We can’t send our strongest people with the situation being as volatile as it is, but we could spare some of our promising young Deities.” The Primaris asked, attempting to squeeze all the benefits he could from the situation.

“I doubt she’d mind, but I would likely confirm things just to be sure. There’s no risk of her seeing the Deities as threats, but she might feel we’re taking advantage.” Moonshadow didn’t mention anything about the nanites as there was a fairly realistic chance the High Command could consider her increasing power and potentially extremely long life as a potential threat.

She wasn’t sure if Lilly reported anything about it, as she wasn’t privy to those reports. Still, she doubted it. Lilly wasn’t the most patriotic Mrrroww ever, and she also seemed to like her time on Selendil’s ship. The young feline had formed bonds with the non-Mrrroww crew members to an extent where her loyalties might have shifted. Moonshadow’s own loyalties were already shifting after all as well. She had always been more loyal to the Panther Clan than the Mrrroww as a whole and her estrangement from her race had only grown over time. Somehow, being on this ship had given her perspective. She would still favor the Mrrroww over any other race, but now she was learning to look at things from a wider perspective. It wasn’t just about the Mrrroww as a people anymore.

That was one of the changes she had gone through after connecting with the universal consciousness as Selendil called it. Connecting with the universe had shifted her mentality. The sudden and abrupt shift had combined with the slow but steady shift of ideas that she had been going through even before that connection. She had been through so many changes in such a short time that it was hard to tell what the cause of a particular shift in either ability or mentality was. Still, she knew she was growing stronger and she knew her ideas would continue to shift over time.

“I suppose that’s fair. We don’t want to alienate her after all. She has brought many positive changes in a short time after all. We don’t want to antagonize her since she could likely just as easily cause negative changes as well.” The Primaris muttered.

Moonshadow considered for a moment whether she should mention that such words might be a bit iffy considering all their communications passed under the watchful eye of Haven. Anything they said might be passed on to Selendil. “What’s the current situation with the Shinzen?” She changed subjects instead.

“Ah, I was about to mention that before I got sidetracked by the talk about Deities. We have not detected any fleet movements towards us from them since the last battles. That said, their last attack surprised us as well, so this lack of news is not a guarantee. We still catch their scouts in our territory, but I get the feeling they are just keeping an eye on our fleets. If we pull those fleets away, then they might take advantage of the gap in our defenses, but so far we haven’t provided them with the opportunity. The constant readiness is taking a toll though. We keep rotating ships and crews to keep everyone sharp and rested, but the longer they keep waiting…” The man’s words sounded weary as well.

He suddenly sharpened his gaze and posture. “That said, we do have some news. It seems the Shinzen have also noticed the change with Dawn Collective and are taking advantage of the opportunity like we are. We’ve run into several of their fleets taking over some of the Collective’s shipyards. That was somewhat to be expected. Here’s the worrying part. We’ve noticed changes to the Shinzen ships. Changes that are likely the result of assimilating our technology. So far the integration has been minimal, but we expect that to change as time passes and they figure out ways to incorporate our tech. Their attack before might not have been enough to take over our planet, but it was enough to achieve something.”

“We might want to warn their other neighbors. Once they successfully assimilate some of our more important technologies, their ships will be more powerful and those neighbors will suffer the consequences.” Moonshadow suggested. She had already mentioned the idea of munitions that could pass the void shields, and they were already in development. In some ways, it was good that the Shinzen attack had not happened after that idea had been implemented.

“Yeah, that might be a tough sell with the High Command.” The Primaris grimaced.

“Of course it would be.” Moonshadow agreed with a deep sigh. She knew why it would be. "That would mean admitting our defenses were completely bypassed, which might encourage others to entertain ideas of doing the same. It would also be an admittance of culpability in the Shinzen growing stronger. Those same neighbors might end up blaming us instead of appreciating the warning.”

“Yes. They would likely want some sort of compensation as a result of the increased burden. Either technological or financial. The High Council will not agree to any such demands either, as none of the other races are in a position to make demands. We're not about to give up our technological supremacy and our finances are already taking a hit thanks to the increased military spending. Warning others might be the right thing to do morally, but it would be a shit-show diplomatically and in practice." The Primaris explained. He didn't like the idea, but his tastes had very little to do with how such things turned out.

“I’ll see if I can manage to convince Selendil to do something when it comes to the Shinzen. I’m not very hopeful that she’ll bite though. She doesn’t mind a good battle, but her interests are not the same as the interests of the Mrrroww.” Moonshadow finally said. ‘My interests might not be the same as those of the Mrrroww anymore either.’ She thought to herself.

“Well, we will appreciate any help you can manage to get. At least get her to train a few of our Deities. Even just a few Deities rising in rank would go a long way to helping with any war we might face. Those new powerful psionic units gave us a bit of a scare.” The Primaris understood that pushing either Selendil or Moonshadow might be a bad idea, so he knew when to settle for small victories.

As the connection was severed, Moonshadow heard the voice of Haven. “I don’t think Selendil will do much against the Shinzen. They are one of the only races that were around when the Dhar existed, so they have a special place in her mind. The Shinzen might have been an annoyance back then, but now she likely is glad that they are still around.”

“Yeah, I can see how she could feel that way.” Moonshadow agreed with a small nod. This was part of the change in perspective that had changed for her. Her view on races like the Shinzen had shifted slightly. She no longer had the same kind of hate for them. That didn’t mean she didn’t dislike them; just that her hate had lessened.

She tried to once again connect with the universal consciousness. She had succeeded twice more, but both times Selendil had been present. It seemed she was still unable to form the connection if the Dhar Keeper was not around. Something about the universal consciousness made connecting more difficult once Selendil was gone. The Keeper had also been busy with something important the last few days after the fight with the Dashane. Moonshadow could feel that something was gnawing at her, but didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it was important though.

-----

“Master, I’ve reached the next stage in the analysis.” Nox announced as Selendil was meditating and going through millions of memories.

"Tell me," Selendil said simply.

“After all my analysis, I have narrowed the possibility of who tampered with the memories to three possibilities. The first one and by far the most likely candidate is one of the Keepers as we guessed before. No other Dhar could manipulate so many memories. I've also eliminated any possibility of someone tampering with them while you were in stasis. Only a Keeper had access to all those memories. The death toll at the end also narrows down the list of possible suspects, but you would know that better than me." Nox didn’t get a convenient list of times of death to compare such things to.

“You said you had three possibilities.” Selendil prompted. She didn’t like the idea of a Keeper tampering with the memories. That went against the very core of their role. What was the point of storing the memories and skills of those that had passed if you altered them?

“Well, four actually, but one is so stupid that I’ll only mention it for completeness’ sake. The most unlikely scenario is that you did it and then removed your own memories of doing it. I’m actually not sure if that’s even possible.” Nox mentioned.

Selendil considered the possibility. “Theoretically, but I doubt it. I lack the opportunity. I was too distraught to do something like that when I got those memories. I suppose I could’ve exited the stasis and removed that memory from both me and your records, but that seems unlikely. I would've known that I'd notice the discrepancy at some point and that we'd figure the truth out sooner or later.”

“I agree. But it had to be mentioned, if for no other reason than to keep an eye out for anything that might hint towards that possibility. The third possibility is that a third party managed to interfere with the memories during the rushed transfer, but that seems a silly thing to tamper with and it would require too perfect timing and control to be pulled off without being noticed. Also, why those memories in particular, you know?” Nox could think of plenty of pieces of information that would be more important to tamper with if given the opportunity.

“And the last possibility?” Selendil shared the opinion. It would take a powerful and skilled individual, impossibly so in fact, to interfere with the process of transferring memories while it was happening. Doing it so accurately was almost entirely impossible. And it would have to be done with perfect timing that no outside party was aware of. So if someone did manage it, why go for those memories? Why not something more important?

“Well, I don’t know how it would occur, or if it’s even a possibility, but what if the universal consciousness had a hand in it? The consciousness and the Great Song are, at best, mysterious. I have no idea what it is capable of. Is it ever aware enough to do anything like that?” Nox didn't really know, hence it was impossible to truly determine the likelihood of that particular possibility.

“That’s…not impossible. Even we didn’t fully understand the consciousness. The possibility is there, though I can’t fathom the reason for such actions. Once again we run into the problem of why those memories in particular.” Selendil mused. The idea was not exactly likely, but she couldn’t dismiss it entirely either.

“I may have some ideas about that later on actually. For now, just the knowledge that it’s a possibility alters my calculations greatly. I'll give you my analysis of the possible reasons later on. You should be aware though that this is the part of the whole analysis that is the most questionable. There may exist a multitude of reasons that we can’t even imagine.” Nox adjusted the odds, and suddenly the idea of the universal consciousness doing the tampering became the second most likely scenario after the interference from another Keeper.

“I recognize that and I’ll keep the possible unreliability factor in mind. Here’s a small incentive though. If you manage to figure out the real reason, or at least a reason I can consider to be plausible enough, I’ll finally create that body for you that I keep teasing you with.” Selendil dangled a small bait just to motivate Nox to get inspired.

-----

“So what’s the problem?” Selendil asked as she arrived at the conference room. Nox had sent her a message that the others had matters to discuss.

“Not a problem this time. Not really.” Amaterasu replied with some satisfaction. “At least not for my part.”

"I wouldn't call mine a problem either. Some decisions mostly. Perhaps even an opportunity." Moonshadow said carefully.

“Well, mine could be categorized as a problem.” Lilly blurted straight out.

“Good, let’s start with that one then.” Selendil decided.

“Yes!” Lilly gave a small paw pump. “So the Dashane Shaman…Overseer…whatever is starting to come through with their promise. The people you asked for are not yet gathered, but the first ones are arriving. You’ll need to handle receiving them though. I think Moonshadow might be able to do it too, but it would be better if you handled their arrival and made sure they understood their position in the chain of command, as you’re the one they are here for. They might have recognized Moonshadow, but she has no authority over them unlike you, and they sure as heck won’t be taking commands from me. Not without a word from you that is.”

Selendil nodded. That was fair. She had not fully considered that part but Lilly’s words made sense. “That was faster than I expected though. I didn’t think they would start arriving until a few weeks from now.”

“I think the other side might have anticipated your request and had set the wheels in motion even before your fight.” Lilly pointed out.

“That brings us naturally to my first issue since these might overlap a bit. The Mrrroww High Command would like to send a few Deities to this ship. They’d be here mostly to grow stronger under your teachings, but they’d be proper crew members while here.” Moonshadow interjected.

“Pshaw! You’re just trying to take advantage of the situation.” Amaterasu scoffed.

“You’re not wrong.” Moonshadow freely admitted. “That said, if both sides benefit, does it matter? I think it would be useful to have access to more qualified people that we can rotate to the ship from the Haven station whenever necessary. We need to be realistic. Most of the people we take on will not be permanent members of the crew. They won’t want to spend their entire lives on the ship. Especially now that your nanites have ensured that life will be a long one.”

“I think that’s not a bad thought if we work on the details a bit," Amaterasu admitted unhappily. “As much as I dislike such practices, I recognize that most beings would only come here for the benefits they might gain. That’s how people work. Very few will stick around out of pure loyalty. That said, we might want to think about what perks such benefit seeking crew members will receive. Training seems to be a given, but what about the nanites?”

Moonshadow nodded. “That’s what I was about to mention as well. We might want to keep the nanites as something that doesn’t get handed out to everyone who spends a few months on the ship. I think that’s something they should earn, and I think these Deities I mentioned would make for a good test group. Some of them will be more useful and will stick around for longer than others. Perhaps we could reward those that do.”

“I could live with that.” Amaterasu nodded. Somehow it had turned into a negotiation between those two.

Selendil didn’t bother mentioning that with the supplies they had gained from the facility, and those that they could now manufacture themselves, they could give the nanites to a large portion of anyone interested in the entire galaxy. With the locations of further supply caches, running out of such nanites became even less of an issue. Still, if the others wanted to create a system for such things without her input then she’d let them. She’d make sure the whole thing was fair and coincided with her own interests, but she wouldn’t bother micromanaging such things unless she had to.

"That sounds like something we could live with," Selendil stated. "Come up with a fair system and have Nox review it. Now, I'm sure you had other things to address."

“I guess it’s my turn then.” Amaterasu leaned forward in her chair. “Our attack on the lower Tetrarchy has gone into full swing and is proceeding better than I even planned. With our agreement with the now only Tetrarch of the upper Tetrarchy, they are staying out of it. With a portion of the lower Tetrarchy’s ships in the Cybran front and the upper Tetrarchy not providing help, the enemy is having trouble standing up to our attack. We've already won a handful of important battles. The whole war will take years, but with the current pace, I think I will be able to go along to the other galaxies in only a few months. That's assuming things continue with the current pace, which is always a dangerous assumption to make."

“On those lines, with the threat of the Dawn Collective gone, the pressure on my race has also lessened considerably. Now only the Shinzen remain a problem, but it’s hard to say how much of a problem they will be or how long dealing with them will take.” Moonshadow added.

"I get the sense that you're suggesting something," Amaterasu said pointedly.

“In a manner of speaking, I suppose. I’m only explaining the situation as I see it. If we could get some help then the problem could be resolved more quickly. I’m not really asking for help though. Selendil did say she might take some action to speed things along and I’m suggesting there’s a possibility for just that here, but it’s entirely up to you if you want to do anything with that possibility.” Moonshadow explained her point of view.

“Why do I get the sense that the Mrrroww are taking advantage more and more?” Amaterasu said with a displeased tone.

“That would be because they are.” Moonshadow freely admitted once again. Her use of the word ‘they' was telling, however. “Again though, if it benefits both parties…”

"I'll have to consider that one," Selendil stated. This was something she didn't feel like making a snap decision on.