“Why should we ever want to leave? This is paradise!”

-Prip

***Outer Rim***

***Batlin***

“This is impossible!” I point at the recording which is displayed on the wall of my office, a scene of utter insanity as far as I am concerned. “Who came up with this joke? I’ll have the person removed from office!”

The intelligence officer who made me aware of this development, a highly ranked member of my own staff, shifts around nervously. Her antennae flutter, showing her distress. She gestures at the insignia in the bottom right corner of the video. “This transmission was signed by the captain of the Valahao, a scout-ship which was left behind at the Prip home system. I checked the digital key and made sure that the transmission was properly encrypted. It had all the correct digital signatures. Faking those is possible, but it would mean that the enemy captured their ship and got complete access to our encrypted computer systems. If this is a joke, then it came from the Valahao’s captain himself.” Her insect-like body shivers at the accusation that she could have done a poor job in bringing this information to my awareness.

I remember that her people, the Triai, an insectoid race, are highly militant and dutiful. My suggestion that her report could be a joke was probably a great insult to her. Sighing, I try to regain my calm and return my attention to the recording which displays a time-lapse of the last seventy hours of the Prip homeworld.

My people kept a close eye on the place, even if it’s no longer of any strategical value to us.

After we vacated the sector, the Cyber left behind a small occupation force, just large enough to squelch any Demon activity on the planet’s surface. They did a pretty good job of it until this superstructure entered the system and swatted their ships out of the sky like insects. It wasn’t even a fight. Any Cyber-ship that came closer than a lighthour was turned into molten slag as thousands of independent mirrors focused the miniature star’s radiation and used it as a weapon.

It was the same trick they used on my own fleet in the battle for the Prip homeworld. Back then I wasn’t too concerned since it’s impossible to move a star. But now they have a portable version and there are few ways to defend against someone throwing the equivalent of fifty thousand TJ per second at you. We need some way to shield against that if we even want to try to oppose them. Clenching my hands into fists, I watch helplessly what happened next.

They just took the planet apart. Somehow, they ripped it apart and used the pieces to build a smaller version of the miniature star and the ring-like superstructure around it. They aren’t quite done yet, but at their speed, it’s just a matter of a few weeks at most. The outlines of their construction work are already there.

Most of the work seems to be done by drones, assisted by beams of light from the first superstructure, they are converting and refining the planet’s raw materials. What was even more shocking was to learn that a large part of the construction work was already done. As the planet gets dismantled, huge segments of the new ring are revealled just beneath the planet’s surface, waiting to be freed by the larger superstructure.

Among the drones are humanoid bodies moving about, seemingly not caring that they are in the vacuum of space. They are directing the construction effort. Recognizing their features, I swallow the dry lump in my throat. Demons.

My tentacles quiver at the impossible sight and I shake my head. “They can’t do this! It’s impossible. That planet just flew apart as if there was no gravity at all! The energy it would take to… it’s impossible!”

Assistant’s emotionless voice returns me to reality. “It seems that it is possible. Unlike what you seem to think, they didn’t use the gravity distortion technology which is used in grav-plates. Gravity distortion allows for easy manipulation of gravity fields and the required space is comparably small, but the required energy is immense. Their approach is much more energy efficient. They clearly used the warp emitters, not to create a warp-bubble, but to bend space.

“For their miniature star, they bend space around a large object until its matter was sufficiently compressed to ignite naturally in a fusion process, probably a large planet. Now it serves as a power source. They applied the same effect in reverse to disassemble the planet. Now we know why they landed forces on the surface – to oversee the construction efforts for the next stage of their plans. Their nano-plague was never designed to build something on the surface. That was just a distraction and maybe a temporary defence.”

I look up at the ceiling. “But how!? How can they have this level of technology!?”

“How can the Cyber create stable wormholes?” Assistant replies with a question of its own. “The Demons and the Cyber are clearly no friends, but they stem from the same progenitors. The Demons saw the Cyber’s application of warp emitters to create a stable wormhole. Knowing that it’s possible, they reverse engineered the technology and made their own version. I don’t know whether they are also able to create wormholes, or if they refuse to do so for some reason. The base of both technologies is the same – although crushing a planet into a miniature star seems somewhat less complicated, just resource intensive.”

I slam my fist onto the office table. “Stop being so emotionless about it! Do you see all those drones? What if they lose control of them!? This is worse than the worst case scenario! At their rate of reproduction, they will overwhelm the sectors in the Outer Rim within a few decades. Within two- maybe three hundred years, they will have populated the galaxy! Aren’t they afraid of losing control of their technology?”

“That assumption isn’t that far off – depending on how much resistance they face,” Assistant answers.

My intelligence officer raises a chitinous hand. “The humans fused with their technology a long time ago, even before they made first-contact with us. We never actually met a real human, just the digital echoes of their personalities. They are probably far less concerned than any of us about ‘losing control’ of their tech. Their technology isn’t just something that they made which is separate them. Instead of creating an independent artificial intelligence, they uploaded their minds. They are their technology.”

“Thanks for the reminder, but that’s not helpful right now,” I grumble.

“If I project that they can keep up their current rate of reproduction and build these superstructures in two- to three-year intervals, then they are already out of control. We have nothing to attack something on this scale. Apparently, having a finished miniature dyson-swarm, as I would like to call these structures, also helps immensely with building a second one,” Assistant judges. “The only possible way out would be to give me complete control over a drone swarm and have me replicate and construct something on a similar scale.”

“Then what!?” I shake my head. “Everyone would see that we aren’t much better than those who we seek to teach our values!”

Assistant doesn’t answer for a depressing moment until he finally decides to press the matter. “I see no other solution which has a chance of success.”

***Outer Rim***

***Tex***

“...and for your continued efforts in supporting our society, for your achievements against our enemies, I grant you the new rank of General of our ground-forces and place you as the first military leader of our new colony, Orion.” Antioch finally ends his speech and attaches the gold medal to my chest, then my king steps back and sits down on his throne while the assembled guests cheer and raise their glasses to congratulate me.

On cue, a system message pops up in my field of view, informing me of my achievement and granting me a free skillpoint for gaining the attention of the crown. I quickly dismiss the message, not needing the distraction right now.

I bow deeply, trying to ignore the fact that the attention of the entire throne room is on me. “Thank you for your generosity, my king. I must admit, I wasn’t aware that I got that much attention from the higher ranks.”

Antioch waves his hand, dismissing my humble reply. “I've been watching your achievements for some time. Your mission on the Prip homeworld got my attention and you never disappointed me. Throughout various space battles, you always proved to have a level head, even if you are favouring the close-up and personal confrontations. Then your second mission on the Prip homeworld was a great success. Yes, you weren’t the one in charge, but you have a skill for being at the right place at the right time.”

“Yes, you proved yourself several times, taking missions with a lot of risk and of great importance to us.” The beautiful demoness next to the king, Silith, smiles and places a hand on her lover’s arm. “We hope to hear more from you as you serve the new colony. If you continue doing so well, you might end up with one of your own to govern. We are always on the lookout for people who have the necessary qualifications.”

I laugh jovially at the suggestion, trying to ignore the crowd. “I promise that I’ll do my best. To be honest, I was a little stumped when I got the invitation to this ball, and that I was to get a promotion.”

“The system makes sure that achievements aren’t forgotten.” Antioch takes a sip from his glass. “Will you settle down and build a home, now that you got a permanent assignment?”

My eyes widen and I raise both hands defensively. “God forbid! I am a free man and I certainly do not intend to settle down. Taking a wife who drowns me in piles of eggs… that’s the biggest mistake any man can make. Not to mention that some of the young and inexperienced men are making the same mistake three or four times in a row!”

A second later, I realize that I may have said too much, allowing my mouth to speak without considering the consequences. Did I really just call the king young and inexperienced in front of a crowd? And to be stupid for taking three wives?

“That wasn’t quite what I meant.” I look around, searching for help, but the people who just cheered on me are avoiding my eyes. Damn the upper society and its power plays.

“I understand.” The king smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Instead, he is looking through me, a clear sign that he is interacting with the network. “You are quite right that having permanent partners is restricting. It teaches us to share our time and care for others, instead of playing around. I think that’s something our society lacks. Our people live for the moment when we should look forward towards the future. It's dismaying. Everyone who joins us hopefully does so because they want to build something that lasts. After all, we want to create an Empire that ensures the survival of our ideals forever.”

Nodding as if he came to a decision, he takes another sip. “There are three women who felt a little abandoned when you ran off without them. I am not a person who likes to meddle in the affairs of others or to judge their way of life. But… I think you should try it. Given your new assignment and that you already agreed to it, there will hardly be a better opportunity to make this experience. Besides, I think that having a woman in his life helps a man to settle down, take fewer risks, consider the consequences of his actions… and such things. All good qualities in a future leader. Why don’t you try it?”

His eyes wander to a point behind me. “There they are, and awfully quick at that.”

Silith blinks at her husband and smiles, as if they just had a secret conversation. “Allow me to congratulate you a second time, although I think that your political skills are a little lacking, Tex. Being a high official requires as much skill as it requires tact. That’s why we would like to give you three aides. I think you already know each other.”

Turning, I find Evelyn, Lyla, and… damn, I forgot the third’s name! I only remember that she is a hell of a rider when she gets on top. “Hi, ladies.” Clearing my throat, I look back at the king and the queen, now sure that this is some twisted punishment. Their expressions tell me that there is no way out of this. How did they even get the three of them here so quickly? Did they intend on doing this from the beginning? Was it part of a plot in case I refuse the position? Are the three my watchdogs?

Focusing back on the three women who dragged me to bed a few nights earlier, I do my best to be professional about it. After all, I did screw up when I allowed my mouth to move without thinking. “I am looking forward to working with you.”