“Redirection and deflection are an important part of war.”

***Outer Rim***

***Antioch***

I study the three-dimensional representation of the surrounding space with slight disinterest. It's projected above us, filling the throne room with blue light.

After having set up yet another base of operations in the last system, we left the growing outpost with a skeleton crew. They should have everything they need to build a thriving colony of their own.

Now, Tartarus is on its way further into the Outer Rim, away from the enemy. It goes against all my instincts to run away. After all, the further away I am from Ouluk, the less likely it is that I will ever get my revenge.

Drawing in a deep breath, I let out a long and exasperated sigh.

Desperate for revenge I might be, but that doesn't mean that I would put at risk what I love. If I were alone, I would probably dive headfirst into danger to hurt Ouluk in any way I can. But as it is, I have Silith, the kids and everyone else to think about.

I will never forget what the G.S. did to us, but my first priority right now is to protect what I have. The enemy is out there, and they vastly outnumber us if Jill is any reliable indication. I realize that this isn't a battle a single individual can win.

“Facility '0000149' is coming along nicely,” Jenny informs me. Somehow, the buxom redhead became one of my assistants. She plays with a strand of her hair and highlights a spot on the map. “Their report says that they will begin production within the month.”

I probably shouldn't identify Jenny by her hair, since the girl changes the colour on a – if not daily – then on a weekly basis. Over the years she went through the whole possible spectrum, and now she is clearly trying out the impossible, because when I say red, then I mean red. It's not a blurred red which lingers on the borderline to brown, but a bright, vibrant colour.

The demoness looks up from her notepad. “Are you paying attention?”

“Yes!” I try to sit a little straighter on my crystal throne, a piece of pure diamond which was found during one of our asteroid excavations. “You said that the facility is almost ready to begin production. Order them to build at least ten additional colony ships before they shift their production to war supplies.”

She nods and jots down a few orders for the manager of the new facility. “Are you sure that we shouldn't start the production of a few military ships? We are safe as long as we aren't discovered, but our time-window is closing. The longer we stay beneath their radar, the more our population grows and, succinctly, the more space our people will cover.”

Jenny shrugs apologetically for questioning me. “I am just asking. At some point, contact with the enemy will become unavoidable.” She looks down at her notepad. “Just yesterday, our scouts reported yet another 'almost first contact' with the Prip. It seems like they have several missions running outside their territory, mainly to cartograph nearby stars.”

I narrow my eyes, remembering the report about them. They are a species which is native to this region. At least that's what I remember from the report. My people were listening to the electromagnetic chatter which the Prip spew so uncaringly into the void. They are capable of FTL travel, but their engines are weak and they have a few dozen ships at the most. Their sphere of influence spans over a few light-years, covering approximately seventeen unified worlds.

They aren't aware of our presence and I would like to keep it that way while our fleet slowly moves around and past their territory. If everything goes well, the Prip will never even know that they aren't alone in the universe.

“I know, but I am trying to play the long game,” I explain. “What we need are numbers and mobility. After reading all the information and history we have on the G.S., I am almost certain that they will react to our existence with overwhelming force. It's unlikely that we would be able to stop their attack.

“Once we know where they are, I intend on ordering the whole fleet to retreat. We will inform the shipyards which are the farthest away to begin military production. Once we are certain of their capabilities, we can think about establishing a front-line and decide on a strategy.

“However well prepared we may be, the sad fact is that humanity never fought a real interstellar war. We showed the G.S. who is boss when they tried to set foot on the planets of our home-system, but they simply bombed any resistance to oblivion. I intend to test our strategy and battle capabilities before we fight them head-on.”

Jenny tries to object, but I continue.

“I know very well that we can outproduce any punitive force the G.S. might send after us, probably. But after reading their history, I am almost certain that they must have a trick up their sleeve. Their fear of artificial intelligence stems from somewhere.”

“They are just fanatics. Their A.I.-war was several hundred years ago. Nobody can tell me that they realize what it means to fight us,” Jenny replies defyingly.

I shrug and feel my tail twitching. “They probably do not, but that doesn't mean that we should let down our guard while we are still vulnerable. It was a long time ago, but the records are strangely silent about the details of the war. That could be a simple result of the passed time; the victor writes the history books and all that.

“But it could also be that the G.S. are purposefully hiding certain details. That could regard some hidden weapon, their strategy, or it could be nothing at all.” I shift in my seat. “What I ask myself is how they did it. The history is relatively clear on the fact that the machine race which threatened the founding races of the G.S. vastly outnumbered and outproduced them. Yet, they somehow defeated such an enemy. How?”

“They had the better technology? Maybe one of their members were far ahead and shared their knowledge?” Jenny offers, though she sounds uncertain.

I nod. “Either that or they had an A.I. of their own.”

She raises her eyebrows in astonishment.

“Think about it. The researchers of the G.S. used Silith, Lisandra and me to solve their mathematical problems. In hindsight, I can see how they could have used some of the information to hack the V.R. nano-tech.” I shudder at the memory of the goop which dissolved my hand so long ago. “Would it be so far-fetched to assume that they did the same to others, maybe far more effectively than in our case?”

I lean back in my chair and study the throne room which also serves as Tartarus's command centre. The walls and ceiling are covered in intriguing patterns of gold and silver, the work of my drones and the artistry of a very renowned artist who joined our ranks. The relief shows the struggle of our people, from the destruction of earth to the creation of the V.C.

Finally, the escape of the progenitors and the creation of our race. The story starts at the left wall, but much of it is still empty, as are the remaining walls. For the time being, a simple pattern which is pleasing to the eye makes the walls a little less barren. I hope that my people and future generations will fill the walls with our stories.

“It's possible,” Jenny admits. “But wouldn't that mean that we have to fight all the harder? We are currently on the same course of action as this ancient machine race. Why should it be any different now?”

“Certainly, but can you offer any alternatives? Maybe the mistake of these machines was that they stood their ground and fought. The chronicles which we got from Hob tell of several punitive expeditions which the G.S. sent out to punish races which did not comply with their policy. In each case, the number of ships in these punitive fleets numbered in the thousands. Some of them are apparently capable of crushing an entire planet single-handedly. It makes what they sent to subdue Earth sound like a scouting force.”

They needed just a few hundred ships to crush any resistance.

“After learning about the tech levels and the restrictions which the G.S. places on new races, I am fairly certain that what Earth encountered was nothing more than the ships of a few vassal species. They certainly weren't manned by any of the species which live near the galaxy's core.”

Jenny looks at her notepad. “So you think that the hypothetical ships which are coming from the core aren't just a few thousand ships which are the technological equal of what we encountered up until now. They will be vastly superior to the G.S. ships which were built in the region of space around earth.”

I nod. “It would be foolish to assume otherwise. Though, I have a plan to test them.”

“Test them?” Jenny asks, befuddled.

“Yes.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, looking at her. “I was wondering where the other V.C. factions are hiding. They must be doing the same thing we are: increasing their forces. And they've had a lot more time on their hands. Where are they?”

She shrugs apologetically. “I am sorry, but I have no idea. Back then I was a member of the survivalists and they have no real government or culture, as you know.”

“Can we use them somehow?”

Jenny furrows her forehead and looks away. “I am not sure... unless you want to use the chalice to transform them too? I would rather avoid involving them in the coming conflict. The Survivalists are hiding in plain sight all over the galaxy and as long as their true identity stays undiscovered, they will always provide a last security to keep the V.C. running.”

“Hm. That's certainly true. I wasn't talking about unmasking them.” I study the pretty relief to my left. “I still would like to identify the colony of an opposing faction. Send the word out. Preferably a Cyber colony.”

Jenny doesn't comply immediately, instead, she clears her throat. “I am sorry, but wouldn't it be extremely foolhardy to intentionally seek out the Cyber? Of all the factions, they are the most likely to immediately attack us, and most likely, they will be among our strongest enemies. We will end up fighting a war on two fronts instead of one.”

I grin. “Who says that we will fight the G.S.? I want to identify a Cyber colony to purposefully point the G.S. towards them. When their punitive force arrives in this region, they will act with extreme prejudice. In a scenario where they encounter a species like ours, highly intelligent and with a reproduction rate that skyrockets through the roof, they won't take long to connect the dots and to suspect us of being their target, even if we try to play a normal, previously undiscovered race.

“But think about this scenario. What if they arrive and they find us in conflict with the Cyber? We could tell them a story of how we encountered them and were immediately attacked. We offer them help and watch their modus operandi while the Cyber distract them unwillingly.”

I cross my arms in front of my chest, grinning. “And as soon as we discover a weakness, we stab them in the back... after they've dealt with the Cybers for us.”

Jenny presses her lips together, looking at me. “That plan is so childish, simple, and stupid...” She mumbles something incomprehensible. “It's risky, but exactly because of that it might work, given that we find a Cyber colony. I doubt that any of the other factions would draw enough attention from the G.S. They are too organic for that.”

She too slowly starts grinning, revealing a set of pointy canines.

“By the way, what about Martin? Is he well? He hasn't shown his face in a while and we had an appointment today. It's not important, but I found it strange that I can't reach him over the network either. There is some sort of interference.”

Jenny purses her lips. “Yesterday was the last time I saw him. He was buried beneath a flood of our demonlings. He is really popular with the kids.” She wriggles a little, then turns worried.

“Actually, I have to go. I never saw him come up.” Turning, she storms off, leaving me with a few important questions...

Flood? Come up?

How the hell do they manage their spawning chambers?