Uk'Gaar waited, floating inside one of the orc's greatest secrets: a rank spoofer.

It was made of thousands of paper-thin metal spheres within each other, all heavily enchanted. It somehow let him keep connected with the system, but the system couldn't recognize his rank.

"Is she here yet?" he asked impatiently.

Tuk'Url's voice came from the comms device in Uk'Gaar's left ear. "Almost."

"You said that the last time I asked!" Uk'Gaar roared in righteous indignation. He was B-rank now. He deserved even more respect than when he had been the Rising Star!

He was Tuk'Url's ruler!

Instead of begging for Uk'Gaar's forgiveness, Tuk'Url said, "We can use this opportunity to review the plan. Do you recall the boy's name?"

"What boy?"

"Feng Shen. The one you gave to the drow."

"Of course I do."

"And what are you supposed to do when you see him?"

Uk'Gaar got even more furious. "I'm the B-rank! You tell me what you think is happening, and I tell you if you're right!"

"Waste his time," Tuk'Url's voice came without emotion. "Kill no drow. We want them to think we're afraid. That we're waiting for the boy to do something to capture him."

"Something, as in..."

"We have no idea. The drow won't, either. That'll keep them guessing and more eager to come."

Uk'Gaar laughed. "I'm a genius for coming up with this idea."

"You are. Drow culture is a mess, but we know the Maiden will have to come to protect her charge. When she arrives, she'll find Bik'Ar's clan defending Planet Seventeen. Our people will pretend to lose, but the other High Chieftains will save them in the nick of time. The Maiden will believe she has the upper hand. When she enters the world, we'll close the trap on her."

"What charge is it that she'll protect?"

"Feng Shen."

Uk'Gaar nodded. "You were paying attention to my plan."

"Of course."

"Why will Bik'Ar's clan, instead of any other, be responsible for the token defense?" the B-rank asked.

There was a moment of silence before Tuk'Url replied, "Bik'Ar was captured, and we have reason to believe she lied to the drow. She said she went against the other High Chieftains to protect you. Any orc would do that to protect our leaders. The drow will hate her clan the most. That'll help cloud the Maiden's judgment, and she'll not notice the trap."

"Which Maiden?"

"Did you take your medicine?"

Uk'Gaar was furious again. Tuk'Url was deflecting his questions! But Uk'Gaar was the B-rank!

"WHICH MAIDEN?!" he bellowed.

"The drow Maiden. The one you forcibly rank up to B-rank to kill. You used a forbidden pill, remember? It has side effects. It affects your memory. But the High Chieftains paid the price for some pills that can help you. They're in the leather bag I gave you before you left. Take one."

The B-rank frowned. "No. I ranked up by myself! The High Chieftains said I couldn't, but I was the Rising Star! How dare they?! You're lying! You're lying to me! I'm a High Chieftain! How dare you?!"

"Your memory was affected," Tuk'Url insisted. "I'm your best friend. Why would I lie to you? I owe everything I have to my friendship with you."

"You're not my friend anymore. I'm B-rank. You're nothing."

"Which means I owe you even more for the privilege of having one day having been close to a High Chieftain. How many can say the same? I wouldn't lie to you. Just... Take a pill. You're B-rank; how could you fail to protect yourself if you think something is wrong. Just try it."

"No."

"I'll kill Shali'Gaar if you don't."

Uk'Gaar froze for a moment before bellowing in rage, "HOW DARE YOU?! TOUCH MY DAUGHTER, AND I'LL TORTURE YOU FOR ETERNITY!"

"See, I was lying now. You saw through it. I would never dare. How could I lie and insist on it after you, a B-rank, saw through it? I wouldn't dare. I'm a puny C-rank. So, please, believe me when I say you should take your medicine. Please."

That made a strange sense somehow. Not a lot. It felt wrong. But also, right. A C-rank wouldn't dare, and Uk'Gaar felt good for seeing through the lie.

Uk'Gaar was clearly the superior here in every conceivable way.

He looked at his left hand. The leather bag hung from it by a string. He opened it and took a black thumb-sized round pill from it.

"Remember not to Inspect the pill, or the system will notice the rank spoofer," Tuk'Url's voice came just as Uk'Gaar was prepared to do that.

Maybe he should kill his former best friend later. Tuk'Url knew Uk'Gaar too well. That wouldn't do; a High Chieftain shouldn't be predictable.

He took the pill, and his mind shut off.

Tuk'Url kneeled before a hut's cloth-covered entrance for hours before he was ordered to enter.

Inside, he found the red-skinned High Chieftain Li'Rok sitting on his bone throne. There was nothing else in the hut. Li'Rok believed in austerity and discomfort to hone a warrior's mind.

The High Chieftain wore loose animal hide instead of proper armor. However, the thick rings on his every finger were an orc-exclusive technology to swiftly deploy equipment at a thought. It was much faster and safer than a spatial ring.

Tuk'Url kneeled again once he was barely inside.

"What is it?" Li'Rok demanded.

"The pills are losing their effectiveness," Tuk'Url reported. "He's remembering and staying awake more often than not, and his mind is becoming less clouded. I believe we have twenty hours at best."

"That'll do."

Tuk'Url had nothing else to say and didn't dare ask questions. He only kept kneeling until he was told to leave.

Another hour later, Li'Rok snorted. "I see why Uk'Gaar liked you. You know your place, and I can't see a single modicum of self-born intrigue in you. You were prepared to die for him before the High Chieftains came to you, weren't you?"

"Yes, but I would do whatever I could to convince him to run away with me. I never expected him to go against the High Chieftains' wishes, rank up, and show killing intent for me afterward. Then, I knew I would die a traitor's death instead of a loyal servant's, not to mention a friend's."

If a High Chieftain decided to kill one of his servants, that was their right. Tuk'Url fully believed in the orc way: the strong ruled, and the weak obeyed. He could only blame his lack of talent for not being the one giving the orders. His only regret was not seeing it coming; he might've at least positioned himself to ensure his death would serve some purpose other than appease to Uk'Gaar's vanity.

"They told me you're smart. Tell me what you think of our plan."

Tuk'Url would never ploy against a superior, but he wasn't out of ambition. Reaching the end of his road at C-rank didn't mean he couldn't seek the best, strongest orc to obey.

He saw the opportunity being given to him and did his best to take advantage of it.

"If the information I was given is all correct, it's a good plan. Even if Bik'Ar revealed that other High Chieftains supported lying to the Maiden to protect Uk'Gaar, that is a minor offense. Who wouldn't protect their Rising Star? We didn't attack her other than to cloud her judgment and had a legitimate desire to negotiate for Uk'Gaar's transgressions.

"Granted, the dark elves have a hypocritical view of lies. They'll freely lie to their own people but will only lie to outsiders when trying to strike a bargain. They believe whenever someone lies to them, that someone is betraying them. That it gives them the right to kill in retribution. They went to war against us because they understood Bik'Ar's lie as the orc leadership betraying the drow. Yet, it can also work to our advantage.

"We're striking at the core of what caused the war: Uk'Gaar and the lie. Uk'Gaar will be given to them at B-rank, which makes him much more valuable than before. It shows a lot of goodwill on our part. On the lie's front, not only will we not request reparations for capturing and killing another of our B-ranks, Bik'Ar, but we will also give the rest of her clan to appease their anger.

"More importantly, we're doing it behind our allies' backs in this war. Our actions will greatly increase the Freedom forces' teleportation prices and make them lose Planet Seventeen.

"We don't care because we'll leave the war anyway. Our allies will hate us no matter what. It's better to do so while accomplishing something; the play in place will also help us receive less heat.

"We'll end up with a loss, but not as much as the potential losses of remaining in this war. The High Elven-Drow Coalition is much stronger than expected. Even if we win, we'll come out weakened, and only after a long time. We're keeping ourselves vulnerable on other fronts, and the causes are Bik'Ar, a High Chieftain that won't return no matter what, and Uk'Gaar, a Rising Star that grew out of control.

"In the past, giving in to a Rising Star's every request and not punishing them for their mistakes worked to ensure they grew quickly and weren't suppressed by other races. However, Uk'Gaar abused it instead of growing grateful. He's a menace that would need to be suppressed anyway.

"Suppressing a High Chieftain also requires focus, time, and resources best spent elsewhere. While I received no official intel about other subjects, I heard whispers of chaotic times ahead. Doing things like this will be good for us on multiple fronts."

Tuk'Url opened his mouth to keep talking but hesitated and shut it.

Li'Rok snorted and commanded, "Speak your mind."

"The biggest issue is how the drow wants to do it."

"Are you against having the Maiden kill Uk'Gaar?"

"She won't succeed. It's impossible. She'll be rescued or die, and the drow might use it to go back on their word."

Invisible pressure suddenly enveloped Tuk'Url and broke his fingers. He grunted in pain but didn't dare to do anything else.

Li'Rok's voice was still calm despite his evident displeasure, "That's not something you would hesitate to speak about. Never hide anything from me out of fear of my reaction. I'm not Uk'Gaar."

Tuk'Url knew that, but he was too used to the former Rising Star. He had been conditioned to please and only speak the truth when it was convenient or in a way that wouldn't offend any sensibilities.

He obeyed the new command at once. "The Maiden won't win, but if she does... I'm against having any alien C-rank kill an orc B-rank in solo combat. It'll give them too much prestige and lower ours. It'll make it look like we're leaving this war out of fear of them instead of a strategic retreat because of potential losses on other fronts. We'll lose diplomatic strength in a time of chaos. I don't have enough data but fear that might make this deal a bad one."

Li'Rok nodded, pleased. "You aren't bad but never had to deal with the consequence of Uk'Gaar's actions, so your stratic insights are naturally limited. If the Maiden succeeds, how powerful does it make her? And how brilliant would expect her future to be?"

"Immeasurably powerful and brilliant."

"Exactly."

Tuk'Url thought for a moment before realization dawned on him. "If she succeeds, we will be afraid. We don't want a B-rank with such potential to harbor unresolvable hatred against us. As long as she's alive, she'll be a threat to the High Chieftains. Even an A-rank backing wouldn't make us much safer because the drow have such backing of their own."

"Close enough. Our allies will believe we're afraid. Every B-rank has been alive long enough to see at least one or two geniuses sweep alone through the Alliance. I doubt the Maiden is one, but our allies will wonder, and it'll let us leave the war with even fewer issues.

"The battle is also a great opportunity for collecting intel. If the Maiden falls, as we actually expect her to, we'll have gotten rid of a future B-rank enemy. If she falls, and she will, we don't have to care about the drow going back on their word because we'll go back on it first. We'll strike fast and conquer Planet Seventeen to gift to our allies as reparations for us leaving the war."

"Why not guarantee her fall?" Tuk'Url asked. "A single extra High Chieftain can join the battle to guarantee her death."

If the drow wanted the Maiden to attack, they were confident. However, even if she were that strong, it would only be shocking to a certain extent. The drow couldn't have the means to produce a C-rank capable of killing two B-ranks simultaneously. If they did, they would get annihilated. Everyone would want that method for themselves.

"You answered it yourself: Uk'Gaar is a menace, and suppressing High Chieftains is costly. We use them where we can. We also lose little and gain a lot by having him die the right way at the right time. And if we try to ensure her death, but the drow counter-ambush us and kills another High Chieftain...

"As for them ambushing Uk'Gaar instead, if that happens, we'll know the Maiden isn't that strong. That they are weak and afraid and must use such subterfuges to deal even with our weakest B-rank. Abiding by the deal and seeing it through—whichever that conclusion might be—is the best option."

Tuk'Url was enlightened.

Indeed, his thinking was too limited. He couldn't picture a world where the orcs had to thread so carefully around another party or consider multiple ramifications from the most direct, obvious, straightforward conclusion.

"Thank you for the lesson," he said wholeheartedly.

"I did not explain it to you out of generosity. You must understand how important it is to ensure Uk'Gaar does as we want him to do. We believe he would accept the challenge even if his mind was clear, but he ranked up against our wishes, proving how limited our understanding of him is. Nothing can go wrong. He must take the pills for now, act according to the script later, and remember to use the pill-nullifier at the first sign of trouble to bring him to full power for the fight."

"If I must understand, may I dare to ask a question?"

"Yes."

"Why the façade with the boy? We must hide our intentions to our allies until Bik'Ar's clan is wiped out, but the boy is irrelevant. Uk'Gaar can just capture him quietly and wait. Why must he try to make everything about the boy while waiting for the Maiden to attack?"

"We weren't told, but it's evident that the drow have designs for the human. Some High Chieftains guess it's a test of loyalty, but I believe they want him to feel indebted to them for the last-second rescue. It might also be a show for their troops. Morale is important during a war, after all."

Once more, Tuk'Url was enlightened and thanked the High Chieftain.

"Do you understand everything now?" Li'Rok asked.

"Yes."

"Then go. A lot rests on your shoulders. Manage Uk'Gaar well."

Tuk'Url didn't ask why he was doing it instead of a High Chieftain. The answer was obvious: it was a test for him, too. Maybe he would be killed later regardless, but showing his loyalty to the stronger party now and accomplishing his mission gave him the only way to maybe survive.

He left with renewed determination.

"The Maiden received the lacked intelligence about Uk'Gaar planning to ambush her charge and went to the rescue," the male Triarch informed as soon as he got the news.

"As we thought, she is willing to fight for him beyond the call of duty," a female said.

"We must remember to watch out for individualistic human culture in the future," the second female commented.

"The Maiden's mind was already ready to break free at C+++," the first female pointed out, "but that culture is indeed infectious."

"I agree," the male said.

Figuring that out was the main reason Squad 939 had been deployed. The Maiden was currently free, so if she hadn't gone, they would have taken the need to give up on Uk'Gaar's life out of the agreement with the orcs. Projections showed the drow would leave this war stronger than they started, but they were stretched too thin, with no margin for mistakes. Having one less race to fight now would give them some breathing room, even if the cost was giving up on their revenge against a minor actor.

The second main reason was testing the Maiden's power. By their estimates, she had a 30 to 40% chance of victory, the best ever registered for any C-rank the drow had ever had. Could she grasp it? And if so, how did that affect the training of other drow in the future?

Free she might be, but she was still drow, and she would be used to improve their race's future.

"Back to the previous topic," the male continued, "the Maiden might be gone, but I'm confident she'll only attack if she believes her charge's life is in danger. The orcs might not act well—" He stopped talking and made a sign of displeasure with his toe. "I just received a new report. The B-rank we put in place to protect Planet Seventeen's drow in case something went wrong were intercepted."

"Betrayal, ploys, or bad luck?" the second female wondered.

"We'll find out," the first female said, and they changed topics.

The Maiden was going beyond her duty to protect a single drow, but the Thiarchs didn't even need to discuss it to decide they wouldn't do the same for the less than one thousand drow on Planet Seventeen. Sending B-ranks there would weaken their position in other pre-war worlds, not to mention that might be the intent of whoever found the B-rank already there. The Triarchy had many more lives and a bigger picture to consider.

Drow never left other drow to die. However, that didn't mean rescuing any drow anywhere in the multiverse. Those were entirely separate matters.

Whether those deployed on Planet Seventeen would survive now depended on the intercepted B-rank or the Maiden winning their battles.

"Remember!" Tuk'Url urged. "Play with the boy until the Maiden bites!"

Uk'Gaar didn't reply.

"And the signal! Crush the signal token as soon as you get attacked! We received new intelligence! The Maiden is coming with three other B-ranks! We'll win the war with this trap! But you must not fail!"

"I never failed in my life," Uk'Gaar replied calmly.

He had been convinced to take a different pill a few moments ago. Right after, his mind had cleared—probably more than expected by his enemies—and he had been able to tell something was wrong.

He had already analyzed the "signal token" and learned it was connected to power inhibitors that had been injected into his body without his notice. The token had long been crushed, and Uk'Gaar was in peak form. Still, he would play things by ear and keep doing as told until he knew who to kill—which High Chieftain had betrayed him. Until then, there was no reason to expose he wasn't as dumb and controlled as everyone considered him.

That said, he couldn't do exactly as told. He already planning on blaming a few "mistakes" on the pills that had clouded his mind. That might make his High Chieftain enemy act and reveal themselves. For instance, Uk'Gaar wasn't supposed to kill any drow, but his hand would "slip." They wanted him to keep Feng Shen entertained until the Maiden came? He would entertain the boy in a way he would never forget.

And after Uk'Gaar learned who his foe was, he would crush everything and everyone in his way until he got his revenge.

As for what awaited him in Planet Seventeen, he wasn't overly worried. He knew his strength. As long as his mind was his and his power wasn't limited, he would kill his enemies until none remained.

"Go!" Tuk'Url said. " Go, go, go! Go, now!"

Uk'Gaar ripped out of the rank spoofer—they were one-time use artifacts—felt the world, teleported to the allied zone closest to his target—the thunderlords'—and walked towards the boy. All the while, he considered ways to be extra obnoxious to make the boy and Uk'Gaar's hidden enemy despair.

| WARNING! You're above this planet's allowed rank range!

| Planet Seventeen's rank range: D to C

| You have 0.1 Standard seconds to teleport away before the United Front for Justice is penalized!

Uk'Gaar ignored the message. He couldn't care less about the orcs' allies when the orcs themselves were acting against him.

He was a B-rank, High Chieftain, and former Rising Star. He had risen by stepping on the corpses of whoever dared to set themselves against him.

He wouldn't be stopped, no matter who it hurt.