Post by Gigachad on Mar 13, 2022 20:36:37 GMT
Chyrix-Austral Expanse
Ka'thog clutched the railing as he gazed up at the stars,his fortress ascended well above the soupy atmosphere below,occasionally illuminated by colossal arcs of lightning. His focus was caught by the homeworld's trio of moons,each one hanging at different points in the sky. The third one in particular seemed to pulse with energy from within,only intensifying as the psionic avatar grit its fangs. Not yet,he needed more time…
Sadly,time was just the thing they lacked most. The ancerium crisis was hardly felt here in their core territory,their ships having relied on the tachyon currents for travel well before they even knew nations existed in the main galaxy. Still,external trade took a hit,their various commercial partners being less fortunate,such was the consequence of being integrated in the galactic economy. Even here,things were not perfect. With the corridor blocked,the forays that the lithorians partook in the Austral zone had to become more frequent and longer lasting. It was all a bid to access the heavier kolleronic materials that Garren's Clarity could not provide,to quench their increasing thirst for such.
That is where the issues came in. Yog'Narrs rampage had unexpected effects on the Mirdiff remnants here. While he doubted any sort of coordination or communication was in effect,it was clear that the event reignited the murderous spark of these ferals. Reports of bioship packs attacking their hunting fleets were becoming increasingly common. Some descended deep into the expanse,never to return while others led hit and run strikes against Collective fringe systems. Their own subsumed Mirdiff strikeforce briefly went rogue,nearly causing a catastrophe by trying to bombard one of Chyrix's moons and necessitating additional failsafes to be put in place.
Footsteps disrupted his contemplation,though he did not react in any way externally,he knew exactly who it was and why they were here.
"Apologies,Lord Ka'thog,is this an unfavorable time?"
"Assuming you are here to give me our sitrep,then there is no such thing,Iv'eid"
"Understood. Should I begin with the bad news?"
"Certainly"
"Our intelligence indicates that the Third Republic has mobilized a massive force which is inbound to Aedleshaven. Preliminary reports rate it somewhere around a hundred thousand warships,number of support assets is unknown"
"The coronans certainly don't fail to impress,though I cannot say I'm surprised by this turn of events. The current situation must have them on the verge of collapse,this is a desperate attempt to prevent that"
"Both SAGA and CONA are mobilizing responses to the region. While the former wishes to undo the Administration's ban on colonial mining,Orillia is looking to maintain the location accessible to natives only. Once if becomes less hazardous,that is"
A light chuckle escaped the hulking figure,much to the surprise of the other lithorian. Suddenly,this devolved into full blown laughter,unrestrained and almost maniacal. By the time Ka'thog finally steadied himself,he had crushed the railing with his grip.
"..."
"Forgive me,my child. It is not often that the winds of fate shift so thoroughly in our favour"
"I am not certain of your meaning my lord…"
"It is simple really. As far as I am concerned,there will be conflict between these two even with the Corona threat bearing down,Orillia will make sure of that or loose their political traction. And yet,if CONA wins,we have access to the corridor. If SAGA triumphs instead,the outcome is the same. We need only wait and watch,focus our resources on other matters and the mining prospects are due to return"
"I see. So you would have us be neutral?"
"Very much so. Still,Corona is the wild card in this situation. It would be in our best interest to ensure they do not succeed. It is a shame our shortages limit the operational abilities of our fleets…"
"About that,Operation Clean House was successful,and our forces uncovered stockpiles of hyperfuel at various strongpoints of pirate activity. Dolgur also reports deposits of hyperfuel and aurastone extracted from a specimen in the Central Invilis Corridor."
"I see"
"Alas,even if we were to deploy our entire navy,it would simply be swept away. Thus I do not see how we could contribute to the coming conflict"
"In a standup fight,we are indeed without hope. But we can still engage in asymmetrical warfare,strike at their supply lines,headquarters,anything to slow them down. That massive fleet of theirs needs fuel just like the rest of us. Should Aedleshaven endure the onslaught long enough,they would in theory run dry eventually,forcing them to retreat or be stranded. That would be our objective"
"Speaking of Operation Clean House. We have uncovered disturbing information. It would seem that the Dark Hegemony raids on our harvesters were funded by the Carmeni Empire…"
"Hm…..We can work with this. I will have to invoke an emergency meeting of all A.C.O.M members,but this gives us the perfect excuse to begin mobilizing. Take this order to all of our military industrial centers,I want our ground swarms increased tenfold. You are dismissed"
"I shall do so immediately" The lithorian bowed,then promptly left the scene.
A new arrival quickly replaced them however. A psionic projection showing some kind of optical apparatus. Now this one was unexpected,prompting Ka'thog to tilt his head.
"Bucephalus? To what purpose do you contact me?"
The red circle narrowed,Ka'thogs reflection clearly visible within its confines.
"Apologies for the disruption,but I bring dissatisfactory information"
He winced,this certainly couldn't be good.
"Please,go on,I'm all ears" The creature crossed its arms.
"Development of the strategic weapon you requested has been faced with lackluster,and will take months at least,potentially a whole year."
"You were wise to address me,this is indeed problematic. What exactly is the issue? Perhaps I could do something to solve it"
"That was my hope. Firstly,my shipyard modules are simply incapable of this construction given the time constraints,though the materials themselves are there. Furthermore,my sub functions are having issues with the theoretical calculations that would influence the primary weapon's design. That is all"
"Yes,certainly a conundrum. Nevertheless,you may rest easy. I know the solution on both accounts. You are dismissed"
The projection faded,leaving the lithorian overlord deep in thought. The industrial might was easy to find,there was no better candidate than the fabled Istralan. He would have to pull some strings with the Free State,but since he'd provide the materials their good standing would likely take care of the rest. As for the needed brain power….
The Yvudina Processor seemed apt,though their nonexistent relations would have to be compensated for somehow.
The question burned into his neural patterns,what would an isolationist AI posibilly want from others? Dawnstone was the only thing that came to mind,yet it was something that he could not provide. A visit to Askandar would have to be in order.
One thing at a time,for now the alien merely summoned a psionic projection screen of his own,initiating communications with the Free State. After making his way through the necessary diplomatic channels and middlemen,a familiar creature appeared on the other side.
"Madame Yrillix.I apologize for contacting with such haste,but I find myself in need of your help…"
The Big Rot-Lithorian Blacksite
Ginko slowly waddled through the halls of the facility,passing by numerous patrols of attack forms in the process. The place was certainly well defended,a veritable fortress buried within the dead flesh which spanned this world,all to hide the secrets within.
She made it into a dark chamber,with a man strapped to a protrusion of the floor,light shining down upon him. She figured he must've been a prisoner from the anti piracy operation that had been conducted,though in truth she did not much care. Afterall,he was naught but a corpse,insides pried open and brutally dissected. She walked past the gruesome sight,her dinner plate sized eyes instead fixated on the sulking figure in the chamber's dark outlines,currently washing his gooey tendrils of blood.
The serpentine thing turned around,revealing its cephalopod like visage,the hump on its body glowing as it spoke.
"I swear,I always get interrupted while working with 'Humans'. First Captain Zipelli now this?! Can you not find a better time?"
"Very funny,but you'll just have to make time for this. I've come to collect your work" She extended one of her own tenracular arms,waiting.
"Ah! I see! You should've just said so,yes yes I am ready,well ahead of schedule might I add." He said,slithering past her and walking to retrieve some sort of cylindrical creature,a holding apparatus.
"The dead matter of Palm Rashidya proved integral to understanding the biochemistry of this meta cancer family,however it was those meat Drinker vessel corpses sent to me that allowed this bioweapon to be perfected. I know it is not my place to ask,but are we really going to pick a fight with that creature?"
Ginko took the device from his grasp,wrapping it with great care
"No,engaging Yog'Narr by ourselves has been considered inadequate. Nevertheless,the ancerium star it covets so dearly is seen as highly important strategically. Lord Ka'thog hopes to assemble an international strike force to deal with the threat,and this bioweapon is planned to be deployed by ftl missile so as to soften them up prior to the assault. Still,even if that never comes to pass,it should prove useful on the Drinker's austral infestation."
"Ah,very interesting. About time we put the rest of those things to good use if you ask me"
"Indeed,now where is the other one?"
The creature's six eyes blinked with surprise,unsure of what she was referring to. Then it clicked soon after.
"Ah yes! The vermin! Do not worry,I have completed this aswell" It said,slithering to an orifice in the wall and promptly combing its depths.
"Considering the various factors involved,their high birth rate,high population and how atleast one of their planets seems to possess planetary scale urbanization,I saw fit to make this concoction extra nasty" It pulled out another holding organism,handing it over with an excited glint in its eyes.
"Are you sure it's going to work?"
"Absolutely! Though no live subjects were available,I've run countless tests on cell samples and simulations,the mortality rates 75%! You see,I chose a bacterium as the agent here,it infiltrates guard cells,forcing then to supress immune response and thus delaying symptoms. This gives it time to invade more tissues and hitch rides on the dendritic cell line,assaulting the lymph nodes to assault the advanced immune system directly! Couple this with dedicated toxin production,the ability to pick up genetic resistance from local microfauna and you've got yourself quite the killer!"
"I see…You seem quite confident in its ability"
"I have yet to even reach the best part. Germinating spores of the micro organism are extremophilic and remain viable after centuries! Barring thorough decontamination,areas of heavy infectivity are rendered uninhabitable for generations!"
"Thus denying infrastructure…..clever.
Let's just hope we never get into a war with ICA to use it,we have enough on our plate as is. Nevertheless,you may get back to your….dissection"
Vexar's Empire-Invilis Corridor
The entrepreneur lit his cigar,ready to watch the set of news for today. Unsurprisingly,it was a complete shitshow. The galaxy was falling part at the seams and here he was,making ridiculous amounts of money off of it. Vexar couldn't begin to count the number of clients that came begging for his foundry worlds. The sheer amount of weaponry currently rolling off the assembly line,along with their nature probably had him on a CGSS watch list,not that he cared of course.
His day was about to get even more interesting however,as a familiar client had scheduled an emergency order from him,demanding it to be made face to face no less. To say Vexar was excited would be an understatement,last time these guys paid him a proper fortune for what was essentially a whole military complex,so he could only imagine what they wanted this time.
The door to his room opened,heralding the fated meeting. In stepped a salamander like creature,thick and wet skin,four arms that seemed practically boneless alongside a pair of legs and nimble tail,quite humanoid all things considered,but still a surprise for him.
"Oh,so you're not using a proxy this time around?" He remarked,puffing some smoke.
The lithorian shook its head,then revealed its needle like teeth
"The whole point of one is so you wouldn't know our identity,yet you found us out"
"That I did, it wasn't exactly hard to piece together. You were the only ones pulling strings in Lakarn afterall. Don't worry,that little detail remains between the two of us,I'm not planning on telling anyone jack" Vexar replied,putting out his smoke
"So what do ya need this time?"
"Well,we've recently come into possession of combat software,surprisingly good one at that"
"Really now? This I gotta hear,I'm all ears"
"See,we recently fulfilled a contract demanding the neutralization of an AI for supposed war crimes. After dealing with its main processing node,a gigantic dreadnought,we came away with a large amount of servers."
"Well that sure sounded like an adventure,where do I come into this?"
"As I said,there was plenty of software left. When we took a closer look,we found it quite crafty and adept at its job,that being warfare. So,after psionically subsuming those subfunctions,we decided to put them to good use."
"And you need me to build a giant warship for that?"
"Precisely"
The man took a sip of coffee,mulling the offer over.
"Alright,lemme see that order"
The lithorian was quick to hand him a dataslate,which he combed over in one hand while taking a second sip,though the contents nearly caused him to choke on it
"What the hell?! You call this thing a warship? That's more like a small moon!"
"Well,the vessels we plundered was quite large,we figured a familiar environment would be best"
"Well,even ignoring the ridiculous material needs,I lack the take to give it half the weaponry here! I don't even know what a meson accelerator is!"
"Don't worry,we'll handle the technicalities ourselves,we just need your industrial capacity for the heavy work"
"Bloody hell,when do you need it finished?"
"In two weeks,three maximum"
"ARE YOU FUCKIN-
DO YOU EVEN REALISE HOW MANY WEAPON ORDERS I GOT?!"
"We're fine with paying extra if it moves up the priority order"
"You bet your slimy rear you're paying extra! You're damn lucky I'm a greedy bastard. Two weeks it is!"
The alien's mouth contorted into a smile,happy to know this little transaction will go over smoothly. As for Vexar,he knew he was gonna have a flood of angry comms from his other buyers, as this order would put his manufacturing to the test,but a part of him wanted to tackle it just because of that fact.
Xandir-Core Lithorian Space
Qhik's unmoving eyes were fixated upon the marvel showcased by the psionic projection screen. Before him was the world of Xandir,its legendary twelve crystalline towers jutting from the surface and rising high into space. Indeed,the largest of these pierced the planet's very moon,in turn making it sprout a trio of smaller spires. That was his destination,the bioship already speeding towards a docking area on the structure's outer layers.
Once inside,he was met by glittering halls and an assault of prismatic colors,enough to make his head spin. That feeling soon departed along with the colorful assault as a creature came to greet him. Strutting on elephantine legs was a huge humanoid with a stocky build,being wider than men were tall. It had long arms which nearly dragged on the ground and no discernable neck,just a smooth top to the body and a lipless mouth. These were the original colonists of Xandir,those who arrived long ago and bred the lesser lithorians that now served beneath.
Qhik had heard stories about the odd folk of this place,those who forsake the cell to instead transplant the Almighty's will into unfeeling material,much like many of its chosen. It is thus no surprise that many saw them as blasphemy,and Qhik could certainly understand why. Hairy filaments and rubbery skin of silicon,quartz muscle underneath,crystal bones that glowed in the body to reveal misshapen organs of inorganic membranes. Were it not for the nervous and circulatory system,one would be wrong to call them organic lifeforms.
The thing bowed respectfully,then extended a hand to help the insectoid up.
"My apologies,our psychometric defense system still needs fine tuning"
He ignored the gesture,instead rising on his own.
"Well,it is certainly effective,though I expect your other work to be more effective"
"Oh,the project lord Ka'thog entrusted to us has indeed gone swimmingly. Please follow me"
The creature beckoned for Qhik to follow,taking him down a number hallways,the latest of which was lined with transparent globes containing what seemed to be black floating wisps.
"After studying the altered mana particles from our dead vessels following the incident in Sadashi space,we discovered that this particular magitech weapon works by shutting down cells of living beings,making it particularly devastating against our biotechnology.
Unfortunately,we still haven't faintest clue on how this process works and how to stop it in a reliable manner barring psionic oversaturation"
"Well,it is magic,not exactly the most intuitive thing"
"Yes. But we do no it only affects organic matter. Bucephalus let us expose several of its drones to the particles with no discernable effect. This brings up our next effort.
Thanks to the lithoid specimens Naz'kid collected from the Eatov assault,we've been able to further pursue our own goals. We replicated,and indeed improved upon the visonite cores,alongside imbuing them with the micro mandalas in lithorian cells to subsume them info our collective. From there,we merely had to add material,be it natural or refined,imbued it with the same micro mandalas and thus gave rise to what I can best describe as living geology."
"So,you reverse engineered the lithoid menace for our own goals?"
"Precisely,these new lithorians lack any cells for the 'death magic' to affect,much like Bucephalus' robots. Tests have shown them to be immune to its effects. While we were able to create a number of ground based forms,so far we have only one spaceborne asset ready."
"Show it to me"
The creature turned back to him,projecting a demonstration in its palm. The creature represented was roughly spherical in nature,covered in weapon emplacements and refined armour plating,a far cry from the primitive lifeforms they faced back at Eatov. Two features stood out,one was a hole in one of its sides,a large energy weapon meant as a spinal emplacement,alongside an assortment of gravitic tendrils surrounding a fusion torch directly opposite of the spinal. Clearly,that was its means of propulsion.
"Keep at it. Even a small taskforce of these may prove crucial if conflict with ICA breaks out"
Zetyan Clanholds-Invilis Corridor
The insertion was covert,barely noticeable. A mere transfer of data from various proxy servers,themselves purchased by agents and shell companies,occurred to the zetyan civilian network by way of the ancnet. The thousand lithorian dataforms,digital intellects psionically tied to the Almighty's will,had just gotten inside.
Immediately,the creature's set about self replicating,copying their code and spreading across various sites and servers,trying to cause as little disturbance as possible while also gathering publicly available information. A week of this resulted in the number of intruders increasing by an order of magnitude,enough to cause significant lag and performance issues from the sheer stress of having to support so many sapient minds. The time of hiding was clearly over.
The operation began,a coordinated cyberattack aimed at the zetyan military,an attempt to transplant themselves from the civillian network to the government one. The majority of the datagrams had a simple and relatively harmless purpose,gather as much intelligence as possible,break as many classified documents and then either alter them or delete them. The remaining minority however had far more disruptive goals,hellbent on damaging and otherwise tampering with the zetyan military industrial complex in any way they could while also planting logic bombs for the possibility of future physical conflict.
Back in the orbit of Chyrix,Ka'thog oversaw the results of the operation personally. So far,little progress had been made. Unsurprising,the assault was supposed to last for days,barring an unexpected move from the zetyans. In truth,he wasn't sure what to expect either,their dataforms had the added advantage of psionic communication,relaying information between themselves,and by extension back to core lithorian territory,in ways that no hacker could hope to track. Still,their experience in this field was almost non existent. This was a test run,meant to gleam them valuable data in how to better perfect their conduct.
Still,there were glimmers of interest. Hacked cameras on the world that the vermin called Kal'iban showed two things. One was a gargantuan warship sitting in orbit,far larger than any zetyan ship in their records. However,he didn't believe it to be a strategic weapon,moreso just a particular formidable but still conventional warship. What made him more uncomfortable was the other thing high in the sky,some titanic structure,far larger than the warship judging by its distance from the planet. Lastly was a name that proliferated the vermin's networks,"Project Dreamweaver". Whatever it was,it had to be big,seeing as it was heavily protected,likely too much so to gleam anything on it. Still,if he had to make an educated guess,it either had something to do with that structure or the warship,perhaps both…
Forge of Galdrak-Invilis Corridor
Ka'thogs avatar manifested itself on the planet's surface. A being of pure fire and energy,confined only to a pair of gauntlets,horned head and shoulder pads made of pure nightstone,the rest was ever morphing and shifting. He glanced up at the gargantuan complex before him,the Forge of Galdrak,where the renowned artificer gave life to many things. It had gotten much larger since that time,his own creations outlived and expanded upon this place,turning it into a city sized factory.
He too was here to breathe life into nothingness,with the blessing of Galdrak's Golems of course,now staunch associates and members of A.C.O.M.
One of the automatons came to greet him,sharing respectful gestures.
"Greetings,lord of the swarm. I take it you have arrived to begin your holy work. Dare I ask where your materials are? You said you wouldn't use anything from our resserves"
"Indeed,they should be arriving just about now actually…" .
The swarm master looked on to the horizon,a flock of aerial drones piercing the clouds,each carrying what seemed to be nets containing blocks of undetermined substance. Once landed,Ka'thog,lifted one of these blocks,bigger than he was,with one hand.
"Shall we proceed?" He inquired,turning to the bewildered magiconstruct.
"Yes…of course. Please follow me"
The massive gates lit with the glow of defense runes,opening up the way for them. Once inside,Ka'thog was led across landscapes of arcane forges,where skilled golems worked day and night,manually constructing the next generation. The lithorian was ushered to one such place,emptied out beforehand.
Without wasting time,Ka'thog set the cube down and buried his arm within it as if it wasn't even there,ripping out a man sized chunk. Of course,this wasn't just any old building material. An alloy of various lithorian materials,the core of the substance was the matter of the Zetyan prototype they had felled in Sadashi Space. Due to its intense demise,less than a percent of its mass could be recovered,but given the sheer size of the thing,it was enough. What interested Ka'thog was the high amounts of mana infused into the material,turning it into a veritable battery for use in the arcane or by magi constructs,when combined with their finest works of metallurgy,it also made for some mighty fine armour.
An hour of hard work later and the chunk had been transformed into a frame,an empty body waiting to be given soul and purpose. Ka'thog did exactly that,psionically transferring a copy of his own mind into the creature,animating it. The times to come would be grueling,filled with war and hardship. Generals,Frontline commanders,warriors,administrators, brilliant intellects,they would all be sorely needed in the future. Ka'thog was going to create this new hope for the future,with his own sweat and blood if he had to.
With a snap of his fingers,hundreds of other avatars manifested in the chamber. He had got the process down,now all that remained was to repeat it. There would be much work ahead…
Yada Confederacy-Invilis Corridor
The meeting went smoothly so far. Despite the event being heralded as an emergency,the many members of A.C.O.M had mostly been talking about internal policies up to this point,how to best cope with the deteriorating galactic community and economy,and of course the big boogeyman that was haunting their southern reaches,ICA.
"With everything else out of the way,I believe it would be apt to discuss our course of action on the actual cause of this congregation,the indisputable evidence Ka'thog provided on the actions of the Carmeni Empire" The Yada Confederacy's president spoke,arranging various dataslates while doing so. She belonged to the worker caste of her insectoid species,making her rise to the position an aberration by their standards.
The arch mage of the Locus Eucephine stood up,ready to make his case
"I believe we should instate severe sanctions upon them immediately,including ancerium ones. Our territory practically surrounds Garren's Clarity and our combined fleet assets would make a ban on Carmeni harvesters a trivial thing" He sat back down,convinced he had swayed the others.
"I disagree" said the King of the Montagal Kingdom,seventh of his bloodline. He did not bother standing up,merely placed both hands upon the table.
"The Carmeni Empire's actions are not only barbaric beyond belief given the ancerium shortage crisis,but also a direct affront to us. Do not forget that they funded pirates to raid our routes too! Not just those of other nations,which is by all accounts a veritable casus belli!"
"Let us not get ahead of ourselves" The Supreme Priest of the Golems of Galdrak intervened,aiming to diffuse the situation.
"Their deeds are an affront,yes,but we cannot simply declare war upon them. We should seek a peaceful approach,especially with ICA breathing down our necks"
The lord Commander of the second Kalegan Empire was fuming,unsurprising given the relation between his nation and the subject of the debate.
"There can be no peace with those dogs! For generations,they have oppressed my people and there remain sizable Kalegan populations under their tyranny to this day! I say this is a great opportunity to free them! We absolutely should commence armed conflict!"
"Perhaps we should hear Ka'thogs word on this?" The mechanical drone,representative of Bucephalus chimed in.
All gazes now turned to the psionic avatar,which until now had been silent. He rose from his seated position,hands wrapped behind his back.
"I believe both sides have made compelling arguments. Let us put this up to a vote"
A nod from all the members signaled their agreement.
"Well then,all opposed to war raise their hands"
The Golems of Galdrak and Locus Eucephine were quick to do so,followed swiftly by the Clan of Trat representative. It was not a surprise,their people were not keen on violence given their upbringing as experiments.
When the turn of the proponents came,the Second Kalegan Empire,Yada Confederacy and Montagal Kingdom's were staunchly in favor,being heated rivals of the Carmeni with the latter two having fought a war in the not so distant past.
The debate was in stalemate,yet several members had not taken either side. Gazes fell upon the robotic drone representing Lakarn's central intelligence. Bucephalus meanwhile,dismisses these glares.
"I will abstain. Whatever the outcome,I will support it"
The "CEO" of the Uvul Conglomerate was next. Of course,his title meant nothing,being merely a figurehead for what was essentially a lithorian puppet polity. Considering these facts,the man's next words shocked Bucephalus.
"I'm against,a war would be overall detrimental to the stocks of our companies,given we'd have to pull out and stop activity in the Carmeni Empire. By all accounts I do not support such a gesture"
The robotic construct snapped its gaze toward Ka'thog,who seemed to be grinning. Did he plan this? And if so,for what purpose? It was now 4 to 3,making this notion fated to not pass.
The answer became clear when the attention of everyone else was placed upon him as well. Being the founder and pillar upon which A.C.O.M rested,the Collective's vote was equal to two member ones,he could sway the tide.
"I believe you all make excellent points,however A.C.O.M was founded to ensure the prosperity of the Invilis Corridor and its members. The Carmeni Empire has threatened both and to sit idly would mean betraying the very ideals we rallied behind. Thus,I believe we should remove this belligerent government from power by way of force"
The die had been cast,with 5 voted to 4,war was now an inevitable notion.
"Pray tell then,you would have us sacrifice millions with ICA lurking right behind? I don't see this as a sound course of action" The arch mage spoke again,clearly dissatisfied.
"No,I am confident that my kin can handle this on their own. I had already commissioned massive military mobilization for the times ahead,this just gives me an excuse for such. All I ask from you is political support and,if necessary,material aid. That is all"
"You think you can take this on on your own? What of the corridor operation? Can you really spare so many assets?" The president of the Confederacy interjected,it seems even those in the pro war camp were doubtful of this.
"It will require some meticulous planning and preparations,yes. But make no mistake,the Carmeni Empire has no chance of competing with the Collective,we have them beat by nearly every metric. Better yet,we won't stop until they fold to our demands"
Tran'kar-Austral Expanse
The rain was heavy,staining the cityscape below in acidic sludge. Amidst the organic skyline stretching from one side of the horizon to the other,one creature stood in the downpour,occupying the terrace in a complex. Naz'kid looked out at the swirling clouds of noxious gas overhead,occasionally illuminated by streaks of lightning. This was not normal. Tran'kars surface,or atleast this one,was an airless waste. Her eyes quickly darted to the culprit of this change,a gigantic complex,larger than any natural mountain. It jutted high into the sky,exhaust billowing from its pointy tip and fanning out into the raging storm overhead. In the distance,others like it could be seen dotting the megacity,each contributing to the veritable hurricane that was brewing in the heavens.
She then turned to look at the entrance to the monument,its gates jarred open and spilling war drones into a sky bound highway of chitinous matter. The stream of bio horrors was structured,marching in perfect unison and arranged in a number of smaller columns based on the specification of the creatures in question. The lithorian reckoned there were millions of them,marching endlessly across the road until vanishing in the base of an even bigger tower,one which rose beyond the storm all together and indeed the reaches of this newfound atmosphere,connecting to the world's orbital ring system.
"It's beautiful,don't you think?" A voice rang from behind her. Turning to see the culprit,Naz'kid saw the colossal frame of Dolgur step out onto the balcony,equally unaffected by the caustic torrent.
"Well,I'm not surprised you feel that way. You were always the martial type" She remarked,turning back to the cityscape.
The other alien stepped forth,passing by her and grasping the railing with both hands,a grin plastered across his eyeless face.
"Just imagine,this sight can be witnessed not just across the entirety of this lord,but many others. Not even the myths speak of such a buildup"
"It is only natural,a conflict the likes of which this galaxy has never seen before is brewing. Everyone is preparing themselves."
"Oh,yes. So many battlefields,an endless assortment of foes,a paradise on earth. If only we did not seek to stay out of it…" His smile disappeared,the alien now lowering its gaze to the distant ground below.
"Don't worry,I'm certain there will be plenty of action waiting for you. Don't forget you're due for deployment against the Carmeni Empire alongside this batch. Just think of it as a warmup prior to the main event"
His spirit restored,the armored creature turned to face her,fangs showing through its renewed smile.
"I suppose you are right. Speaking of which,I should get going"
The alien walked back up to the railing and placed one foot atop it,surveying that which lay below. Without a second thought,he leapt off the structure,grappling onto an aerial critter which he called for beforehand.
Naz'kid meanwhile,decided it would be best to simply head back inside and take the elevator down…
Fountainhead Pulsar-Killian Verge
The wormhole tore open the fabric of space,finalizing the connection between this system and Chyrix all the way in the Austral Expanse. Zenomoir watched as the harvesters made their way out of this rift then sped off towards the Pulsar and its cloud of hyperfuel. Being purpose built for the conditions,these ships,together with those at Garren's Clarity,their stockpiled reserves and some strict rationing were bound to quell their thirst for fuel.
He breathed a sigh of relief,the first part of his assignment was done,yet it was also the easy one. A week ago,he had come to the system with a veritable fleet worth dozens of warships. Despite repeated explanations that his mission was merely to guard a future mining prospect from piracy,the local unaligned were not so easily convinced. Chief among them being the Republic of Barbada,they wanted nothing less than their departure from the Fountain. A series of meetings and negotiations yielded little progress,eventually forcing the Collective to cave in somewhat,making a deal the local governments couldn't refuse.
They signed a formal treaty,one which forced the forces present to protect all mining assets from hostile action,regardless of their origin.
With the states in question lacking in the ways of martial prowess and military development,they were more than eager to leave such things to better prepared folks,saving precious funds that could be better spent elsewhere.
Little did they know that the lithorian presence here was far grander than they could ever imagine. Indeed,softly cruising through the interstellar void of the region were hundreds of warships in total,delivered in low numbers and over a wide period of time to remain as covert as possible. Heading these ships was Zenomoir's soon to be command ship,the Fujin,a supercarrier with strategic scale capabilities.
In truth,he was not here to fight mere pirates. The galaxy was on the precipice of war,the corridor to the Golden Expanse was virtually impossible to mine between the various threats in the region's and it would only get worse. While the soon to be Aedleshaven front was of little concern to him,the Fountain was. Given its proximity to the corridor,those in high places fully expected some sort of secondary strike to split off from the main coronan advance and attempt to seize it,especially if their odds of seizing Aedleshaven dwindled. Thus,it was his objective to oppose them in any way possible should that come to pass. Even with this mighty force,it was fully expected that a stand up fight with the third republic would be suicidal,and as such asymmetrical warfare had to be prioritized.
For now however,all was calm. The harvesters set about their duty and harvested their bounty. No signs or reaver or hostile activity were detected either,they still had some time left,and they'd make the most of it.
Prizgadrowki Zwiazek-Corridor Region
The translation was successful. On one side of the wormhole sat the Chylix system,the lithorian's center of operations deep in the Austral Zone,hosting the megastructure which opened this breach in the first place. On the other side was the system they had purchased from Prizgadrowki Zwiazek,originally meant as a hub for their mining operations in the Golden Expanse,now it would serve as a staging ground for their coming operations.
A thousand warships made the journey here,by far the single largest mobilization of such assets in Collective history. At the center of this force stood the linchpin of their force,the strategic asset known as the Ikenga. It was within this colossal vessel that Xil'bal,the one in command of this force,began running diagnostics and receiving status reports from his cadre of subordinates,each leading a specific facet of their armada.
One thing that immediately came to their attention was a truly disheartening number of FTL signature approaching them from several sides. One such conglomerate had departed from Orillia,no doubt belonging to CONA,while the other one was likely the culmination of SAGA's forces. It was the third and largest one that they were here for,the one that wasn't even on the galactic plane but rather rapidly descending upon them. The Coronan warfleet was truly gigantic,each of the three masses made the lithorian entourage look like a pittance yes,but the Third's Republic's force was unmistakably the largest among them.
After running calculations,they concluded they had five days,five days until the tips of these masses made it there and the whole region erupted in combat. This certainly did not leave them with much time for preparations,but they had to follow the plan regardless. They would lead an all out assault upon AMEC terminal GB1,a location deemed as a likely staging ground for the incoming Coronan armada. They would have to take over this holding ruthlessly and efficiently,to deny the republic all the infrastructure that these two systems held by a thorough dismantling. From there,they would disperse and wait for the Coronans to lock themselves against CONA and SAGAs own warfleets,allowing them to begin asymmetric operations and target the coronan support elements. The Ikenga would serve as their mobile base of operations,using its resource harvesting and industrial capabilities to keep them supplied and repair damage. Still,they would need to occasionally return to their wormhole for fuel resupply,or to use the system's planet as a replacement hub should the Ikenga fall.
Still,those were worries for the future. For now,the lithorian biofleet spooled its collective ftl drives,disappearing from the system as if they had never been there. They raced to strike the AMEC terminal while they still had the time,knowing they were on the edge of a conflict that would shake the galaxy itself. It was now one minute to midnight…
Ka'thog clutched the railing as he gazed up at the stars,his fortress ascended well above the soupy atmosphere below,occasionally illuminated by colossal arcs of lightning. His focus was caught by the homeworld's trio of moons,each one hanging at different points in the sky. The third one in particular seemed to pulse with energy from within,only intensifying as the psionic avatar grit its fangs. Not yet,he needed more time…
Sadly,time was just the thing they lacked most. The ancerium crisis was hardly felt here in their core territory,their ships having relied on the tachyon currents for travel well before they even knew nations existed in the main galaxy. Still,external trade took a hit,their various commercial partners being less fortunate,such was the consequence of being integrated in the galactic economy. Even here,things were not perfect. With the corridor blocked,the forays that the lithorians partook in the Austral zone had to become more frequent and longer lasting. It was all a bid to access the heavier kolleronic materials that Garren's Clarity could not provide,to quench their increasing thirst for such.
That is where the issues came in. Yog'Narrs rampage had unexpected effects on the Mirdiff remnants here. While he doubted any sort of coordination or communication was in effect,it was clear that the event reignited the murderous spark of these ferals. Reports of bioship packs attacking their hunting fleets were becoming increasingly common. Some descended deep into the expanse,never to return while others led hit and run strikes against Collective fringe systems. Their own subsumed Mirdiff strikeforce briefly went rogue,nearly causing a catastrophe by trying to bombard one of Chyrix's moons and necessitating additional failsafes to be put in place.
Footsteps disrupted his contemplation,though he did not react in any way externally,he knew exactly who it was and why they were here.
"Apologies,Lord Ka'thog,is this an unfavorable time?"
"Assuming you are here to give me our sitrep,then there is no such thing,Iv'eid"
"Understood. Should I begin with the bad news?"
"Certainly"
"Our intelligence indicates that the Third Republic has mobilized a massive force which is inbound to Aedleshaven. Preliminary reports rate it somewhere around a hundred thousand warships,number of support assets is unknown"
"The coronans certainly don't fail to impress,though I cannot say I'm surprised by this turn of events. The current situation must have them on the verge of collapse,this is a desperate attempt to prevent that"
"Both SAGA and CONA are mobilizing responses to the region. While the former wishes to undo the Administration's ban on colonial mining,Orillia is looking to maintain the location accessible to natives only. Once if becomes less hazardous,that is"
A light chuckle escaped the hulking figure,much to the surprise of the other lithorian. Suddenly,this devolved into full blown laughter,unrestrained and almost maniacal. By the time Ka'thog finally steadied himself,he had crushed the railing with his grip.
"..."
"Forgive me,my child. It is not often that the winds of fate shift so thoroughly in our favour"
"I am not certain of your meaning my lord…"
"It is simple really. As far as I am concerned,there will be conflict between these two even with the Corona threat bearing down,Orillia will make sure of that or loose their political traction. And yet,if CONA wins,we have access to the corridor. If SAGA triumphs instead,the outcome is the same. We need only wait and watch,focus our resources on other matters and the mining prospects are due to return"
"I see. So you would have us be neutral?"
"Very much so. Still,Corona is the wild card in this situation. It would be in our best interest to ensure they do not succeed. It is a shame our shortages limit the operational abilities of our fleets…"
"About that,Operation Clean House was successful,and our forces uncovered stockpiles of hyperfuel at various strongpoints of pirate activity. Dolgur also reports deposits of hyperfuel and aurastone extracted from a specimen in the Central Invilis Corridor."
"I see"
"Alas,even if we were to deploy our entire navy,it would simply be swept away. Thus I do not see how we could contribute to the coming conflict"
"In a standup fight,we are indeed without hope. But we can still engage in asymmetrical warfare,strike at their supply lines,headquarters,anything to slow them down. That massive fleet of theirs needs fuel just like the rest of us. Should Aedleshaven endure the onslaught long enough,they would in theory run dry eventually,forcing them to retreat or be stranded. That would be our objective"
"Speaking of Operation Clean House. We have uncovered disturbing information. It would seem that the Dark Hegemony raids on our harvesters were funded by the Carmeni Empire…"
"Hm…..We can work with this. I will have to invoke an emergency meeting of all A.C.O.M members,but this gives us the perfect excuse to begin mobilizing. Take this order to all of our military industrial centers,I want our ground swarms increased tenfold. You are dismissed"
"I shall do so immediately" The lithorian bowed,then promptly left the scene.
A new arrival quickly replaced them however. A psionic projection showing some kind of optical apparatus. Now this one was unexpected,prompting Ka'thog to tilt his head.
"Bucephalus? To what purpose do you contact me?"
The red circle narrowed,Ka'thogs reflection clearly visible within its confines.
"Apologies for the disruption,but I bring dissatisfactory information"
He winced,this certainly couldn't be good.
"Please,go on,I'm all ears" The creature crossed its arms.
"Development of the strategic weapon you requested has been faced with lackluster,and will take months at least,potentially a whole year."
"You were wise to address me,this is indeed problematic. What exactly is the issue? Perhaps I could do something to solve it"
"That was my hope. Firstly,my shipyard modules are simply incapable of this construction given the time constraints,though the materials themselves are there. Furthermore,my sub functions are having issues with the theoretical calculations that would influence the primary weapon's design. That is all"
"Yes,certainly a conundrum. Nevertheless,you may rest easy. I know the solution on both accounts. You are dismissed"
The projection faded,leaving the lithorian overlord deep in thought. The industrial might was easy to find,there was no better candidate than the fabled Istralan. He would have to pull some strings with the Free State,but since he'd provide the materials their good standing would likely take care of the rest. As for the needed brain power….
The Yvudina Processor seemed apt,though their nonexistent relations would have to be compensated for somehow.
The question burned into his neural patterns,what would an isolationist AI posibilly want from others? Dawnstone was the only thing that came to mind,yet it was something that he could not provide. A visit to Askandar would have to be in order.
One thing at a time,for now the alien merely summoned a psionic projection screen of his own,initiating communications with the Free State. After making his way through the necessary diplomatic channels and middlemen,a familiar creature appeared on the other side.
"Madame Yrillix.I apologize for contacting with such haste,but I find myself in need of your help…"
The Big Rot-Lithorian Blacksite
Ginko slowly waddled through the halls of the facility,passing by numerous patrols of attack forms in the process. The place was certainly well defended,a veritable fortress buried within the dead flesh which spanned this world,all to hide the secrets within.
She made it into a dark chamber,with a man strapped to a protrusion of the floor,light shining down upon him. She figured he must've been a prisoner from the anti piracy operation that had been conducted,though in truth she did not much care. Afterall,he was naught but a corpse,insides pried open and brutally dissected. She walked past the gruesome sight,her dinner plate sized eyes instead fixated on the sulking figure in the chamber's dark outlines,currently washing his gooey tendrils of blood.
The serpentine thing turned around,revealing its cephalopod like visage,the hump on its body glowing as it spoke.
"I swear,I always get interrupted while working with 'Humans'. First Captain Zipelli now this?! Can you not find a better time?"
"Very funny,but you'll just have to make time for this. I've come to collect your work" She extended one of her own tenracular arms,waiting.
"Ah! I see! You should've just said so,yes yes I am ready,well ahead of schedule might I add." He said,slithering past her and walking to retrieve some sort of cylindrical creature,a holding apparatus.
"The dead matter of Palm Rashidya proved integral to understanding the biochemistry of this meta cancer family,however it was those meat Drinker vessel corpses sent to me that allowed this bioweapon to be perfected. I know it is not my place to ask,but are we really going to pick a fight with that creature?"
Ginko took the device from his grasp,wrapping it with great care
"No,engaging Yog'Narr by ourselves has been considered inadequate. Nevertheless,the ancerium star it covets so dearly is seen as highly important strategically. Lord Ka'thog hopes to assemble an international strike force to deal with the threat,and this bioweapon is planned to be deployed by ftl missile so as to soften them up prior to the assault. Still,even if that never comes to pass,it should prove useful on the Drinker's austral infestation."
"Ah,very interesting. About time we put the rest of those things to good use if you ask me"
"Indeed,now where is the other one?"
The creature's six eyes blinked with surprise,unsure of what she was referring to. Then it clicked soon after.
"Ah yes! The vermin! Do not worry,I have completed this aswell" It said,slithering to an orifice in the wall and promptly combing its depths.
"Considering the various factors involved,their high birth rate,high population and how atleast one of their planets seems to possess planetary scale urbanization,I saw fit to make this concoction extra nasty" It pulled out another holding organism,handing it over with an excited glint in its eyes.
"Are you sure it's going to work?"
"Absolutely! Though no live subjects were available,I've run countless tests on cell samples and simulations,the mortality rates 75%! You see,I chose a bacterium as the agent here,it infiltrates guard cells,forcing then to supress immune response and thus delaying symptoms. This gives it time to invade more tissues and hitch rides on the dendritic cell line,assaulting the lymph nodes to assault the advanced immune system directly! Couple this with dedicated toxin production,the ability to pick up genetic resistance from local microfauna and you've got yourself quite the killer!"
"I see…You seem quite confident in its ability"
"I have yet to even reach the best part. Germinating spores of the micro organism are extremophilic and remain viable after centuries! Barring thorough decontamination,areas of heavy infectivity are rendered uninhabitable for generations!"
"Thus denying infrastructure…..clever.
Let's just hope we never get into a war with ICA to use it,we have enough on our plate as is. Nevertheless,you may get back to your….dissection"
Vexar's Empire-Invilis Corridor
The entrepreneur lit his cigar,ready to watch the set of news for today. Unsurprisingly,it was a complete shitshow. The galaxy was falling part at the seams and here he was,making ridiculous amounts of money off of it. Vexar couldn't begin to count the number of clients that came begging for his foundry worlds. The sheer amount of weaponry currently rolling off the assembly line,along with their nature probably had him on a CGSS watch list,not that he cared of course.
His day was about to get even more interesting however,as a familiar client had scheduled an emergency order from him,demanding it to be made face to face no less. To say Vexar was excited would be an understatement,last time these guys paid him a proper fortune for what was essentially a whole military complex,so he could only imagine what they wanted this time.
The door to his room opened,heralding the fated meeting. In stepped a salamander like creature,thick and wet skin,four arms that seemed practically boneless alongside a pair of legs and nimble tail,quite humanoid all things considered,but still a surprise for him.
"Oh,so you're not using a proxy this time around?" He remarked,puffing some smoke.
The lithorian shook its head,then revealed its needle like teeth
"The whole point of one is so you wouldn't know our identity,yet you found us out"
"That I did, it wasn't exactly hard to piece together. You were the only ones pulling strings in Lakarn afterall. Don't worry,that little detail remains between the two of us,I'm not planning on telling anyone jack" Vexar replied,putting out his smoke
"So what do ya need this time?"
"Well,we've recently come into possession of combat software,surprisingly good one at that"
"Really now? This I gotta hear,I'm all ears"
"See,we recently fulfilled a contract demanding the neutralization of an AI for supposed war crimes. After dealing with its main processing node,a gigantic dreadnought,we came away with a large amount of servers."
"Well that sure sounded like an adventure,where do I come into this?"
"As I said,there was plenty of software left. When we took a closer look,we found it quite crafty and adept at its job,that being warfare. So,after psionically subsuming those subfunctions,we decided to put them to good use."
"And you need me to build a giant warship for that?"
"Precisely"
The man took a sip of coffee,mulling the offer over.
"Alright,lemme see that order"
The lithorian was quick to hand him a dataslate,which he combed over in one hand while taking a second sip,though the contents nearly caused him to choke on it
"What the hell?! You call this thing a warship? That's more like a small moon!"
"Well,the vessels we plundered was quite large,we figured a familiar environment would be best"
"Well,even ignoring the ridiculous material needs,I lack the take to give it half the weaponry here! I don't even know what a meson accelerator is!"
"Don't worry,we'll handle the technicalities ourselves,we just need your industrial capacity for the heavy work"
"Bloody hell,when do you need it finished?"
"In two weeks,three maximum"
"ARE YOU FUCKIN-
DO YOU EVEN REALISE HOW MANY WEAPON ORDERS I GOT?!"
"We're fine with paying extra if it moves up the priority order"
"You bet your slimy rear you're paying extra! You're damn lucky I'm a greedy bastard. Two weeks it is!"
The alien's mouth contorted into a smile,happy to know this little transaction will go over smoothly. As for Vexar,he knew he was gonna have a flood of angry comms from his other buyers, as this order would put his manufacturing to the test,but a part of him wanted to tackle it just because of that fact.
Xandir-Core Lithorian Space
Qhik's unmoving eyes were fixated upon the marvel showcased by the psionic projection screen. Before him was the world of Xandir,its legendary twelve crystalline towers jutting from the surface and rising high into space. Indeed,the largest of these pierced the planet's very moon,in turn making it sprout a trio of smaller spires. That was his destination,the bioship already speeding towards a docking area on the structure's outer layers.
Once inside,he was met by glittering halls and an assault of prismatic colors,enough to make his head spin. That feeling soon departed along with the colorful assault as a creature came to greet him. Strutting on elephantine legs was a huge humanoid with a stocky build,being wider than men were tall. It had long arms which nearly dragged on the ground and no discernable neck,just a smooth top to the body and a lipless mouth. These were the original colonists of Xandir,those who arrived long ago and bred the lesser lithorians that now served beneath.
Qhik had heard stories about the odd folk of this place,those who forsake the cell to instead transplant the Almighty's will into unfeeling material,much like many of its chosen. It is thus no surprise that many saw them as blasphemy,and Qhik could certainly understand why. Hairy filaments and rubbery skin of silicon,quartz muscle underneath,crystal bones that glowed in the body to reveal misshapen organs of inorganic membranes. Were it not for the nervous and circulatory system,one would be wrong to call them organic lifeforms.
The thing bowed respectfully,then extended a hand to help the insectoid up.
"My apologies,our psychometric defense system still needs fine tuning"
He ignored the gesture,instead rising on his own.
"Well,it is certainly effective,though I expect your other work to be more effective"
"Oh,the project lord Ka'thog entrusted to us has indeed gone swimmingly. Please follow me"
The creature beckoned for Qhik to follow,taking him down a number hallways,the latest of which was lined with transparent globes containing what seemed to be black floating wisps.
"After studying the altered mana particles from our dead vessels following the incident in Sadashi space,we discovered that this particular magitech weapon works by shutting down cells of living beings,making it particularly devastating against our biotechnology.
Unfortunately,we still haven't faintest clue on how this process works and how to stop it in a reliable manner barring psionic oversaturation"
"Well,it is magic,not exactly the most intuitive thing"
"Yes. But we do no it only affects organic matter. Bucephalus let us expose several of its drones to the particles with no discernable effect. This brings up our next effort.
Thanks to the lithoid specimens Naz'kid collected from the Eatov assault,we've been able to further pursue our own goals. We replicated,and indeed improved upon the visonite cores,alongside imbuing them with the micro mandalas in lithorian cells to subsume them info our collective. From there,we merely had to add material,be it natural or refined,imbued it with the same micro mandalas and thus gave rise to what I can best describe as living geology."
"So,you reverse engineered the lithoid menace for our own goals?"
"Precisely,these new lithorians lack any cells for the 'death magic' to affect,much like Bucephalus' robots. Tests have shown them to be immune to its effects. While we were able to create a number of ground based forms,so far we have only one spaceborne asset ready."
"Show it to me"
The creature turned back to him,projecting a demonstration in its palm. The creature represented was roughly spherical in nature,covered in weapon emplacements and refined armour plating,a far cry from the primitive lifeforms they faced back at Eatov. Two features stood out,one was a hole in one of its sides,a large energy weapon meant as a spinal emplacement,alongside an assortment of gravitic tendrils surrounding a fusion torch directly opposite of the spinal. Clearly,that was its means of propulsion.
"Keep at it. Even a small taskforce of these may prove crucial if conflict with ICA breaks out"
Zetyan Clanholds-Invilis Corridor
The insertion was covert,barely noticeable. A mere transfer of data from various proxy servers,themselves purchased by agents and shell companies,occurred to the zetyan civilian network by way of the ancnet. The thousand lithorian dataforms,digital intellects psionically tied to the Almighty's will,had just gotten inside.
Immediately,the creature's set about self replicating,copying their code and spreading across various sites and servers,trying to cause as little disturbance as possible while also gathering publicly available information. A week of this resulted in the number of intruders increasing by an order of magnitude,enough to cause significant lag and performance issues from the sheer stress of having to support so many sapient minds. The time of hiding was clearly over.
The operation began,a coordinated cyberattack aimed at the zetyan military,an attempt to transplant themselves from the civillian network to the government one. The majority of the datagrams had a simple and relatively harmless purpose,gather as much intelligence as possible,break as many classified documents and then either alter them or delete them. The remaining minority however had far more disruptive goals,hellbent on damaging and otherwise tampering with the zetyan military industrial complex in any way they could while also planting logic bombs for the possibility of future physical conflict.
Back in the orbit of Chyrix,Ka'thog oversaw the results of the operation personally. So far,little progress had been made. Unsurprising,the assault was supposed to last for days,barring an unexpected move from the zetyans. In truth,he wasn't sure what to expect either,their dataforms had the added advantage of psionic communication,relaying information between themselves,and by extension back to core lithorian territory,in ways that no hacker could hope to track. Still,their experience in this field was almost non existent. This was a test run,meant to gleam them valuable data in how to better perfect their conduct.
Still,there were glimmers of interest. Hacked cameras on the world that the vermin called Kal'iban showed two things. One was a gargantuan warship sitting in orbit,far larger than any zetyan ship in their records. However,he didn't believe it to be a strategic weapon,moreso just a particular formidable but still conventional warship. What made him more uncomfortable was the other thing high in the sky,some titanic structure,far larger than the warship judging by its distance from the planet. Lastly was a name that proliferated the vermin's networks,"Project Dreamweaver". Whatever it was,it had to be big,seeing as it was heavily protected,likely too much so to gleam anything on it. Still,if he had to make an educated guess,it either had something to do with that structure or the warship,perhaps both…
Forge of Galdrak-Invilis Corridor
Ka'thogs avatar manifested itself on the planet's surface. A being of pure fire and energy,confined only to a pair of gauntlets,horned head and shoulder pads made of pure nightstone,the rest was ever morphing and shifting. He glanced up at the gargantuan complex before him,the Forge of Galdrak,where the renowned artificer gave life to many things. It had gotten much larger since that time,his own creations outlived and expanded upon this place,turning it into a city sized factory.
He too was here to breathe life into nothingness,with the blessing of Galdrak's Golems of course,now staunch associates and members of A.C.O.M.
One of the automatons came to greet him,sharing respectful gestures.
"Greetings,lord of the swarm. I take it you have arrived to begin your holy work. Dare I ask where your materials are? You said you wouldn't use anything from our resserves"
"Indeed,they should be arriving just about now actually…" .
The swarm master looked on to the horizon,a flock of aerial drones piercing the clouds,each carrying what seemed to be nets containing blocks of undetermined substance. Once landed,Ka'thog,lifted one of these blocks,bigger than he was,with one hand.
"Shall we proceed?" He inquired,turning to the bewildered magiconstruct.
"Yes…of course. Please follow me"
The massive gates lit with the glow of defense runes,opening up the way for them. Once inside,Ka'thog was led across landscapes of arcane forges,where skilled golems worked day and night,manually constructing the next generation. The lithorian was ushered to one such place,emptied out beforehand.
Without wasting time,Ka'thog set the cube down and buried his arm within it as if it wasn't even there,ripping out a man sized chunk. Of course,this wasn't just any old building material. An alloy of various lithorian materials,the core of the substance was the matter of the Zetyan prototype they had felled in Sadashi Space. Due to its intense demise,less than a percent of its mass could be recovered,but given the sheer size of the thing,it was enough. What interested Ka'thog was the high amounts of mana infused into the material,turning it into a veritable battery for use in the arcane or by magi constructs,when combined with their finest works of metallurgy,it also made for some mighty fine armour.
An hour of hard work later and the chunk had been transformed into a frame,an empty body waiting to be given soul and purpose. Ka'thog did exactly that,psionically transferring a copy of his own mind into the creature,animating it. The times to come would be grueling,filled with war and hardship. Generals,Frontline commanders,warriors,administrators, brilliant intellects,they would all be sorely needed in the future. Ka'thog was going to create this new hope for the future,with his own sweat and blood if he had to.
With a snap of his fingers,hundreds of other avatars manifested in the chamber. He had got the process down,now all that remained was to repeat it. There would be much work ahead…
Yada Confederacy-Invilis Corridor
The meeting went smoothly so far. Despite the event being heralded as an emergency,the many members of A.C.O.M had mostly been talking about internal policies up to this point,how to best cope with the deteriorating galactic community and economy,and of course the big boogeyman that was haunting their southern reaches,ICA.
"With everything else out of the way,I believe it would be apt to discuss our course of action on the actual cause of this congregation,the indisputable evidence Ka'thog provided on the actions of the Carmeni Empire" The Yada Confederacy's president spoke,arranging various dataslates while doing so. She belonged to the worker caste of her insectoid species,making her rise to the position an aberration by their standards.
The arch mage of the Locus Eucephine stood up,ready to make his case
"I believe we should instate severe sanctions upon them immediately,including ancerium ones. Our territory practically surrounds Garren's Clarity and our combined fleet assets would make a ban on Carmeni harvesters a trivial thing" He sat back down,convinced he had swayed the others.
"I disagree" said the King of the Montagal Kingdom,seventh of his bloodline. He did not bother standing up,merely placed both hands upon the table.
"The Carmeni Empire's actions are not only barbaric beyond belief given the ancerium shortage crisis,but also a direct affront to us. Do not forget that they funded pirates to raid our routes too! Not just those of other nations,which is by all accounts a veritable casus belli!"
"Let us not get ahead of ourselves" The Supreme Priest of the Golems of Galdrak intervened,aiming to diffuse the situation.
"Their deeds are an affront,yes,but we cannot simply declare war upon them. We should seek a peaceful approach,especially with ICA breathing down our necks"
The lord Commander of the second Kalegan Empire was fuming,unsurprising given the relation between his nation and the subject of the debate.
"There can be no peace with those dogs! For generations,they have oppressed my people and there remain sizable Kalegan populations under their tyranny to this day! I say this is a great opportunity to free them! We absolutely should commence armed conflict!"
"Perhaps we should hear Ka'thogs word on this?" The mechanical drone,representative of Bucephalus chimed in.
All gazes now turned to the psionic avatar,which until now had been silent. He rose from his seated position,hands wrapped behind his back.
"I believe both sides have made compelling arguments. Let us put this up to a vote"
A nod from all the members signaled their agreement.
"Well then,all opposed to war raise their hands"
The Golems of Galdrak and Locus Eucephine were quick to do so,followed swiftly by the Clan of Trat representative. It was not a surprise,their people were not keen on violence given their upbringing as experiments.
When the turn of the proponents came,the Second Kalegan Empire,Yada Confederacy and Montagal Kingdom's were staunchly in favor,being heated rivals of the Carmeni with the latter two having fought a war in the not so distant past.
The debate was in stalemate,yet several members had not taken either side. Gazes fell upon the robotic drone representing Lakarn's central intelligence. Bucephalus meanwhile,dismisses these glares.
"I will abstain. Whatever the outcome,I will support it"
The "CEO" of the Uvul Conglomerate was next. Of course,his title meant nothing,being merely a figurehead for what was essentially a lithorian puppet polity. Considering these facts,the man's next words shocked Bucephalus.
"I'm against,a war would be overall detrimental to the stocks of our companies,given we'd have to pull out and stop activity in the Carmeni Empire. By all accounts I do not support such a gesture"
The robotic construct snapped its gaze toward Ka'thog,who seemed to be grinning. Did he plan this? And if so,for what purpose? It was now 4 to 3,making this notion fated to not pass.
The answer became clear when the attention of everyone else was placed upon him as well. Being the founder and pillar upon which A.C.O.M rested,the Collective's vote was equal to two member ones,he could sway the tide.
"I believe you all make excellent points,however A.C.O.M was founded to ensure the prosperity of the Invilis Corridor and its members. The Carmeni Empire has threatened both and to sit idly would mean betraying the very ideals we rallied behind. Thus,I believe we should remove this belligerent government from power by way of force"
The die had been cast,with 5 voted to 4,war was now an inevitable notion.
"Pray tell then,you would have us sacrifice millions with ICA lurking right behind? I don't see this as a sound course of action" The arch mage spoke again,clearly dissatisfied.
"No,I am confident that my kin can handle this on their own. I had already commissioned massive military mobilization for the times ahead,this just gives me an excuse for such. All I ask from you is political support and,if necessary,material aid. That is all"
"You think you can take this on on your own? What of the corridor operation? Can you really spare so many assets?" The president of the Confederacy interjected,it seems even those in the pro war camp were doubtful of this.
"It will require some meticulous planning and preparations,yes. But make no mistake,the Carmeni Empire has no chance of competing with the Collective,we have them beat by nearly every metric. Better yet,we won't stop until they fold to our demands"
Tran'kar-Austral Expanse
The rain was heavy,staining the cityscape below in acidic sludge. Amidst the organic skyline stretching from one side of the horizon to the other,one creature stood in the downpour,occupying the terrace in a complex. Naz'kid looked out at the swirling clouds of noxious gas overhead,occasionally illuminated by streaks of lightning. This was not normal. Tran'kars surface,or atleast this one,was an airless waste. Her eyes quickly darted to the culprit of this change,a gigantic complex,larger than any natural mountain. It jutted high into the sky,exhaust billowing from its pointy tip and fanning out into the raging storm overhead. In the distance,others like it could be seen dotting the megacity,each contributing to the veritable hurricane that was brewing in the heavens.
She then turned to look at the entrance to the monument,its gates jarred open and spilling war drones into a sky bound highway of chitinous matter. The stream of bio horrors was structured,marching in perfect unison and arranged in a number of smaller columns based on the specification of the creatures in question. The lithorian reckoned there were millions of them,marching endlessly across the road until vanishing in the base of an even bigger tower,one which rose beyond the storm all together and indeed the reaches of this newfound atmosphere,connecting to the world's orbital ring system.
"It's beautiful,don't you think?" A voice rang from behind her. Turning to see the culprit,Naz'kid saw the colossal frame of Dolgur step out onto the balcony,equally unaffected by the caustic torrent.
"Well,I'm not surprised you feel that way. You were always the martial type" She remarked,turning back to the cityscape.
The other alien stepped forth,passing by her and grasping the railing with both hands,a grin plastered across his eyeless face.
"Just imagine,this sight can be witnessed not just across the entirety of this lord,but many others. Not even the myths speak of such a buildup"
"It is only natural,a conflict the likes of which this galaxy has never seen before is brewing. Everyone is preparing themselves."
"Oh,yes. So many battlefields,an endless assortment of foes,a paradise on earth. If only we did not seek to stay out of it…" His smile disappeared,the alien now lowering its gaze to the distant ground below.
"Don't worry,I'm certain there will be plenty of action waiting for you. Don't forget you're due for deployment against the Carmeni Empire alongside this batch. Just think of it as a warmup prior to the main event"
His spirit restored,the armored creature turned to face her,fangs showing through its renewed smile.
"I suppose you are right. Speaking of which,I should get going"
The alien walked back up to the railing and placed one foot atop it,surveying that which lay below. Without a second thought,he leapt off the structure,grappling onto an aerial critter which he called for beforehand.
Naz'kid meanwhile,decided it would be best to simply head back inside and take the elevator down…
Fountainhead Pulsar-Killian Verge
The wormhole tore open the fabric of space,finalizing the connection between this system and Chyrix all the way in the Austral Expanse. Zenomoir watched as the harvesters made their way out of this rift then sped off towards the Pulsar and its cloud of hyperfuel. Being purpose built for the conditions,these ships,together with those at Garren's Clarity,their stockpiled reserves and some strict rationing were bound to quell their thirst for fuel.
He breathed a sigh of relief,the first part of his assignment was done,yet it was also the easy one. A week ago,he had come to the system with a veritable fleet worth dozens of warships. Despite repeated explanations that his mission was merely to guard a future mining prospect from piracy,the local unaligned were not so easily convinced. Chief among them being the Republic of Barbada,they wanted nothing less than their departure from the Fountain. A series of meetings and negotiations yielded little progress,eventually forcing the Collective to cave in somewhat,making a deal the local governments couldn't refuse.
They signed a formal treaty,one which forced the forces present to protect all mining assets from hostile action,regardless of their origin.
With the states in question lacking in the ways of martial prowess and military development,they were more than eager to leave such things to better prepared folks,saving precious funds that could be better spent elsewhere.
Little did they know that the lithorian presence here was far grander than they could ever imagine. Indeed,softly cruising through the interstellar void of the region were hundreds of warships in total,delivered in low numbers and over a wide period of time to remain as covert as possible. Heading these ships was Zenomoir's soon to be command ship,the Fujin,a supercarrier with strategic scale capabilities.
In truth,he was not here to fight mere pirates. The galaxy was on the precipice of war,the corridor to the Golden Expanse was virtually impossible to mine between the various threats in the region's and it would only get worse. While the soon to be Aedleshaven front was of little concern to him,the Fountain was. Given its proximity to the corridor,those in high places fully expected some sort of secondary strike to split off from the main coronan advance and attempt to seize it,especially if their odds of seizing Aedleshaven dwindled. Thus,it was his objective to oppose them in any way possible should that come to pass. Even with this mighty force,it was fully expected that a stand up fight with the third republic would be suicidal,and as such asymmetrical warfare had to be prioritized.
For now however,all was calm. The harvesters set about their duty and harvested their bounty. No signs or reaver or hostile activity were detected either,they still had some time left,and they'd make the most of it.
Prizgadrowki Zwiazek-Corridor Region
The translation was successful. On one side of the wormhole sat the Chylix system,the lithorian's center of operations deep in the Austral Zone,hosting the megastructure which opened this breach in the first place. On the other side was the system they had purchased from Prizgadrowki Zwiazek,originally meant as a hub for their mining operations in the Golden Expanse,now it would serve as a staging ground for their coming operations.
A thousand warships made the journey here,by far the single largest mobilization of such assets in Collective history. At the center of this force stood the linchpin of their force,the strategic asset known as the Ikenga. It was within this colossal vessel that Xil'bal,the one in command of this force,began running diagnostics and receiving status reports from his cadre of subordinates,each leading a specific facet of their armada.
One thing that immediately came to their attention was a truly disheartening number of FTL signature approaching them from several sides. One such conglomerate had departed from Orillia,no doubt belonging to CONA,while the other one was likely the culmination of SAGA's forces. It was the third and largest one that they were here for,the one that wasn't even on the galactic plane but rather rapidly descending upon them. The Coronan warfleet was truly gigantic,each of the three masses made the lithorian entourage look like a pittance yes,but the Third's Republic's force was unmistakably the largest among them.
After running calculations,they concluded they had five days,five days until the tips of these masses made it there and the whole region erupted in combat. This certainly did not leave them with much time for preparations,but they had to follow the plan regardless. They would lead an all out assault upon AMEC terminal GB1,a location deemed as a likely staging ground for the incoming Coronan armada. They would have to take over this holding ruthlessly and efficiently,to deny the republic all the infrastructure that these two systems held by a thorough dismantling. From there,they would disperse and wait for the Coronans to lock themselves against CONA and SAGAs own warfleets,allowing them to begin asymmetric operations and target the coronan support elements. The Ikenga would serve as their mobile base of operations,using its resource harvesting and industrial capabilities to keep them supplied and repair damage. Still,they would need to occasionally return to their wormhole for fuel resupply,or to use the system's planet as a replacement hub should the Ikenga fall.
Still,those were worries for the future. For now,the lithorian biofleet spooled its collective ftl drives,disappearing from the system as if they had never been there. They raced to strike the AMEC terminal while they still had the time,knowing they were on the edge of a conflict that would shake the galaxy itself. It was now one minute to midnight…