“General Tyn, what’s your report?” Skylar asked. He straightened up in his chair and stared at the hologram in the middle of the table on his right. “Is that ship from Hyperia?”

“Commander, indeed it is.” Skylar cursed under his breath at the confirmation. “We detected it entering the Draconis System approximately four hours ago. They ignored initial hail requests until they began their approach, at which point they orbited and awaited clearance to enter. Prime Minister Manaeli met them as soon as they disembarked. They come with just a single request, which is to gain full rights to our mining operations.”

“And that would include access to our tritinium as well, correct?” Skylar felt a lump growing in his throat. If Hyperia was here, that could only mean one thing: their war was coming to Stariek.

“While they didn’t specify that being their goal, they included it, sir.” General Tyn nodded. “We are currently the only planet to have access to the material, and it does not surprise us they finally showed up.”

“How many of them are here?”

“The vessel came into the atmosphere with a small team. Their agent, Colonel Augusta Ire, and just five soldiers were on board. However, since they arrived, three Badanov cruisers have arrived in orbit. They disarmed their weapon systems before entering, and right now they’re just sitting there biding their time.”

“What are your recommendations, General?”

“Sir, Hyperia has a fleet that outnumbers our own by several orders of magnitude. Their army is second to none. We know they are not usually friendly. It is unheard of for them to even ask rather than just take what they want.”

“What is your point?” Skylar asked, trying to hide his impatience. He let his hands land flat on the tabletop. “I know all this. Tell me what our options are. Tell me how we can protect our people.”

“We have two options, sir.” The general shifted uncomfortably in his chair and glanced around at the others, none of whom met his eye. “The first is to give them what they want without a fight. It saves everyone on the planet, and we don’t have to worry about invoking their wrath. The second….”

He paused, thinking. Maybe hoping one of the others would continue for him. None were brave enough, instead choosing to sit their quietly and let the High General take the reins.

After several moments, he took a breath. “We could fight. As a collective, we have determined that we could fight them, maybe win, but the outcome would be catastrophic.”

“How catastrophic?” the Commander asked. “Catastrophic as in Mornage destroyed? As in Stariek destroyed? Give me specifics, General.”

“Sir, wars always have consequences. Even as a general, it’s not something I would recommend as a first course of action.”

“Don’t you dare bullshit me.” Skylar couldn’t help but raise his voice. “I’m not some reporter you can try to outwit or confuse and make them forget the question. This isn’t a fucking press conference where you try to beat around the push and weasel your way out of an answer. How many dead? How much destruction? Answer the question.”

“Possibly millions in the first day of fighting, sir,” Tyn said. The man visibly deflated, his shoulders sagging. Even through the hologram, Skylar could see the face redden. “Possibly the end of Stariek.”

“Too many.” Skylar rubbed his forehead with his fingers. He sat back and stared at the hexagon in the middle of the table. “Millions too many.”

“If we do this, we would have to deplete our tritinium supply. Use it for bombs and ammunition to take out as many of the Hyperions as we can. But they could come at us with the full force of their army, which we wouldn’t be able to defend against. At least, not for long. There is the possibility that we can put up enough of a fight that they realize it’s not worth it, but we would sustain heavy losses in the attempt.”

“Thank you for your input, General.” Skylar turned to a man on his left. “What is the status of our fleet, Admiral Plonibad?”

“Sir, we have two frigates, four cruisers, and one carrier currently undergoing routine maintenance. It would take several days to get them ready for battle.” He fidgeted in his chair and pulled at his collar. “The other two frigates, cruiser, and carrier are on standby, awaiting your orders. If we knew something like this was going to come up, we would have postponed the maintenance.”

“It’s fine, Admiral.” Skylar managed a weak smile in his direction. “You had no way of knowing.”

Skylar sat there, thinking and staring at the table. Deep down, he knew this day would come, but he had always hoped he would be wrong. Risking millions — billions even, if the Hyperions torched the planet — of lives, for something that meant so little in the long run.

“Admiral, tell the fleet to stand down,” Skylar said as he decided. Plonibad nodded. “General Tyn, is their representative available? I’d like to go over their terms before I make a final decision.”

“Of course, sir,” General Tyn pushed back away from the table, making him move through the actual chair. “I’ll set up a meeting at once. When would you like to see him?”

“As soon as possible, General,” Skylar said, staring off into the distance.

“Very well, sir. I’ll have a vehicle pick you up.”

General Tyn’s hologram disappeared after a brief salute.

“That’s all for now, Generals and Admirals.” Skylar stood himself and brushed off his clothes. “Tell your troops to stand down, but be ready at a moment’s notice. If anything changes, I will notify each of you immediately.”

Each of them stood up and blinked out of the room, followed by the sphere collapsing back to its cradle with another push of a button. Skylar ran his hands through his hair. His breathing was heavy. He could barely keep it under control.

After several moments, he walked to the door. Zayne opened it and let Skylar walk out first.

“How am I going to get out of this?” he asked. He didn’t intend to say it aloud, but it felt better to voice his concerns. “I always have an answer. There’s always some way out. But now this. An enemy I didn’t see coming. I should have seen it coming. They always find a way to drag the innocent into their damn wars.”

“Skylar, you’ll think of something.” Zayne placed his hand on Skylar’s shoulder as they made their way back downstairs. “You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. No one said being Commander was going to be easy.”

“Easy for you to say.” Skylar brushed the hand away. “You don’t have an entire planet, billions of people, on your shoulders.”

“No, I don’t, and I can’t even begin to imagine the stress you’re going through. It’ll all be okay in the end, though. Once we meet with this Colonel Ire—”

“There’s no we.” When Skylar said the words, Zayne gave him a curious look. “I want you to stay here, Zayne. I need to know my family is safe. That someone I can trust is here.”

“Skylar, I should be with you at the meeting. You might need some backup.”

“If they really mean for this to be peaceful, there’ll be no reason for backup.” Skylar stopped and rubbed at his temples. “Please. I just need to know someone is here protecting them.”

“Of course, sir.” Zayne straightened his back and came to attention. Apparently, not all of his military training had disappeared. “You can count on me.”

“Let’s keep moving. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

The basement was darker than Skylar remembered. He didn’t get down there that often. There were only two reasons for its construction: storage of supplies, and storage of people. The architect designed the safe room to withstand the strongest of attacks, not that it ever experience a real-world test. It had a plain brown door with another keypad to the side. Zayne typed in the code, and it hissed open.

The safe room was an average size. It bore a small table with four chairs in one corner and a sitting area in another. A locked cabinet was in the middle of one wall. There were no windows, and, to prevent any chances of tampering, no air vents. Instead, there was a small oxygen filter in the corner to provide a steady stream of breathable air.

Xaleyp and Rach were sitting at the table playing a game of holographic chess. They looked up briefly as the door opened, but they quickly returned to their game after hurried hellos. Kaylee jumped up immediately, running over to her husband and throwing her arms around his neck.

“What’s going on?” she asked, leaning back to look at him while still holding tight.

“It’s a diplomatic ship,” he lied, hesitating. He looked anywhere but at her face, trying to avoid that confrontational expression she always had when she could tell he was lying. “It’s from Hyperia. Before you get upset, all they want is access to our mining, and I’m going to give it to them.”

She protested when he mentioned Hyperia, opening her mouth to yell out. Her arms fell away from his neck and she took a step back from him, glowering and shrinking away. They had been through the same history lessons when they were younger. They both knew what was at stake.

“I’m meeting with their emissary right after I leave you guys. It’s important that you stay here until I return, or until I send a message.” He looked Kaylee in the eyes. “Zayne will stay here to keep you safe. Just remember not to trust any message without the code word.”

He walked over to the table with carefully measured steps, making a conscious effort to keep any worry from showing on his face. They looked up at him, curious expressions on their face. They weren’t old enough to know what was going on.

“Who’s winning?” he asked the children. Rach smiled brightly but said nothing. “Of course you are.”

“I’m just letting her win, dad,” Xaleyp said. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Rach, I’m sorry you had to be here for this,” Skylar said, scratching the back of his head. He was at a loss for words. “I’ll tell your parents you’re safe when I get a chance.”

“It’s okay, Mister Vah’Aris,” she said, giving him a half smile.

“Xaleyp,” Skylar said, looking at his son. “Be good, and be brave, okay? Do whatever your mom says. And make sure you keep her safe.”

“I will.” Xaleyp nodded. His eyes, one a deep purple and one a bright blue, seemed to sparkle in the light. “You can count on me.”

“Right.” Skylar stood up straight and brushed off his robes. “I guess it’s time to go meet this Colonel Ire.”