Being in Brisbane, away from the First Cohort and most of my support staff, was liberating and distressing. I had never been anywhere without security. I had staff, yet none were Imperially trained or competent. I didn’t hold it against them when they didn’t know you never used Chamomile with Jasmine or only if someone special was visiting. It only took me moments to sort out my bathing oil regime; well, Statia cross-referenced what I knew against what was available locally. They should have known that it was sandalwood oil in the bath, with a lavender powder after I was dry and maybe a hint of rose tea. Stress reduction should have been a higher priority.
I was not stressed; I was just tense and somewhat anxious. Luke was somewhere missing in action, and despite knowing that he was alive, I was concerned as I felt fluctuations in his devotion to his oath. Whatever trials he was facing, I could not help him. Sarah's entire bond went dark for a month, then it resurged, blazing, strong enough for me to know she had somehow grown even stronger. Yet I could not get a reading on her through the bond, and that was very concerning. I was used to operating alone, but the brief period when we three were in orbit around each other had kindled a fire for companionship in me that I didn’t know I was missing. It was sitting there like a Stellar Leviathan resting on my shoulders.
I had been in Brisbane for over a week, and we were engaged in intense negotiations for the merger of Earth Inc. and IPC. It was not easy, and the biggest hurdle was aligning goals.
Well, instead, the biggest hurdle was the clash of different System Ideologies.
Earth Inc. was based around a poorly hijacked version of the Empire System that piggybacked into the Prism but could not boot into it because the Prism was not available. Thus, it defaulted back to the Empire, with some resulting conflicts.
IPC was a spaghetti rewrite of the Prism code that piggybacked into the Empire System until it gained self-sufficiency, which resulted in the entity known as Harold being accepted as an independent System.
The technical crap did my head in. Allen had been instrumental in the creation of Harold, and he did not even understand what it was capable of now. As an Imperial Family member, I had some understanding of the broader scope. Still, I was not familiar with any of the internal mechanisms or even the seemingly bitchy System Politics. Even more frightening was the notion that the Systems were part of a larger collection of Systems, and there were even realms or places that were outside the Accords.
All this added to my growing unease and my frustration.
Statia: The only way a merger will work is if The Earth Alliance becomes a faction and then has a formal System-sanctioned merger. There are precedents, but it requires you to be in the Imperial City and have full access to the powers of the Hunter Throne.
I know. At the moment, Amy is the leader, although her advisors are Sue and Simon.
Statia: Don't forget, Allen. I like him, although he is dangerous.
And a bit unstable. However, between them, they have managed Amy without any direct ruling and are using her as a lightning rod.
Statia: Just be thankful that your toyboy and paramour are not around. As much as they are powerful, they have no clue about anything and would just get in the way.
That is why Harold sent Amy on the quest.
Statia: You know that you could just take over.
I know, but that is what my father would do. I want people to like and respect me, not fear me.
Statia: Your stress levels would be less
No. The worst thing is that I actually like most of their agreement. It's just that their name is so bad. I guess Earth Alliance is a better faction name, and it will allow independent settlements to be incorporated much more easily.
All we were doing now was waiting for the ratification of the IPCs charter. Then, since everyone in Earth Inc. was nominally or even formally an Employee, a majority shareholders meeting could just vote for the merger. Since Luke was out of commission, I, by default, had his proxies, which gave me the majority vote. Rather than strong-arm everyone, I was taking a consultative approach, which was novel and totally out of character. Still, I had the freedom to explore that side of my nature without all the scrutiny of the Imperial Courts, the First Cohort or any other number of advisors that would typically sit in on this.
The only person or entity that I had listened to was Alakaʻi, who was training to be my Imperial Advisor. Through her, I also got quite a read on Mike. Julie was on board because she saw the potential profits; she would become a land owner in lieu of ownership, so she would retain her voting rights and gain a substantial income. The Vitohydress, through their representative Hydrox, were also gaining further rights to access Earth and in future sections of the Empire that they would otherwise be locked out of for their shares.
Allen and Harold were the biggest hurdles to the completion of our merger. Neither understood the hierarchical structure that a System based on power required. The best administrators in the world could not lead if they were not powerful enough when a warrior or mage of only a few levels higher could ignore them and even influence them without trying. Tiers and Levels dictated power. Anything that did not have a Tier 4 or 5 leader was ripe to be exploited. The Empire only kept the Karass in check due to my father's presence and the cost of running a full-blown war.
The Earth Humans were trying to force a vote, as if democracy had ever worked. The best they could hope for was a benevolent dictator whom they mostly agreed with and who left them alone. That is why the Empire worked; as long as taxes flowed up and the level of happiness – karmic balance – kept increasing, my father ignored the majority. Sure, it was not perfect; crime, poverty, and exploitation still existed, but he made genuine efforts to balance the privacy and well-being of the majority of people against the freedom of some to choose, as Luke would say, to be a dick.
I was impatient.
If there is no resolution in the next day, we will act. We cannot delay. We need access to Brisbane to fortify it against the Murhogs and the Karass. I have a feeling we will see something big from them soon. I can't be distracted when we have yet to crack the issue of Selwin. Rahsaan is working wonders, but he is one person.
Statia: All hail the Empress of Earth. Queen of the Earth Alliance.
I refused to answer that.
Sue had put us in a luxurious hotel with full amenities and personal staff, including a chef who doubled as the butler, whom I had been tormenting for the last few days.
My chef, Laurent Chen, was supposedly a celebrity chef known for his innovative fusion cuisine, combining French and Earth global flavours. Since I had no idea where France was or what the flavours were, we had spent quite some time talking about food and the creation of some of his signature dishes. Amazingly, he was Tier 2 but had refused to gain access to a class and was level 0. His refusal was not unheard of but was very rare. He still had access to the System but did not gain the benefits of Class Skills. His refusal stemmed from his belief that his 50 years of training would become invalidated and replaced by a simple cooking skill. We debated the pros and cons of his stance while he plied me with exotic dishes. Bouillabaisse, Coq au Vin, Escargot, Foie Gras to name a few. Fish stew, Chicken and mushrooms, Snails and Liver. Again, I had little frame of reference for these and decided that French cooking was high in fat and slimy yet exceedingly tasty.
Without Laurent, I would have been a lot more intolerant. He had a way of relating everything to food, cooking or gathering food. He was remarkably fit for someone who was fixated on food and ate substantially more than he should, so I had him running errands for me as well as cooking. I guess that fell under his butler duties. I had no idea about Earth's service positions, but as far as I knew, he would be the equivalent of my father's Majordomo, except he could cook and had personality.
It was weird; I was potentially one of the most powerful beings on this planet, yet no one knew who I was or my role. Pre-integration Earth humans, particularly Australians, seemed to have a very relaxed outlook and a distinct lack of respect for authority. I was not sure if I liked it or if I could do anything about it. The Empire's System would eventually ingrain a more hierarchical viewpoint, and once people were more aware of how power worked, it would change.
Statia: Will you talk to Amy? She has a problem that you might be needed to solve.
Despite my now more relaxed attitude, I was here to work, so there was no real reason to deny her.
Sure
Amy: Thanks. I don’t think we have officially met, but Sue has updated me on the negotiations. I am Luke's sister and, I guess, the leader of IPC.
To Amy: Greetings, Baroness Walkden, High Priest of Harold. What can I do for you?
I would have to make sure she got some etiquette training. Not that the informality was anything different from what I would expect from someone related to Luke.
Amy: Your Highness, I am not sure if you are aware of the situation on my quest or how it is going, but we received a rather strange or unexpected offer.
I believe you were to quest your way to Sydney and deal with any issues.
Amy: Yes, the Karass. According to our intelligence, we have also managed to get the Murhog Slavers to retreat off the planet.
To Amy: A worthy feat. Do you know if it was global or local?
Amy: Unconfirmed if it is global, but we may be able to find out.
To Amy: What was the offer?
Amy: We received a message from Apha, the Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin. The Vizier has requested a meeting to discuss his surrender. He has been accommodating and is willing to come to us via the Flex Tech Towers portal.
Shit. You could not trust Karass. I knew nothing about the internal politics or even what rank a Royal Vizier was. All I knew was that there was no way to trust him. The only good Karass was a dead one.
To Amy: You can't trust them. If we do meet, he will have no bodyguards and no weapons. If possible can you come, and make it soon. Does Sue know?
Amy: She suggested I speak to you. We don't know enough about intergalactic politics. This is too big for us.
To Amy: Organise the meeting. Today. Soon. We may need to move quickly. If it is a trap, we are not ready; if he is legitimate, then we are not prepared for what he is running or hiding from.
Amy: He seemed quite desperate.
To Amy: Did you meet him?
Amy: A hologram or whatever you want to call it. I'd be happy to come back to Brisbane. We are in the middle of nowhere, and I hate this quest.
To Amy: You know your presence here destabilises the progression of your planet'sIntegrationn and that, despite your protection, you will cripple your planet's growth.
Amy: I figured that out, but this is big.
To Amy: Get him here, and we can deal with him. He will be Tier 4, maximum. Second thoughts, you stay where you are, we may need you near Sydney quickly. Move closer without being too threatening.
Amy: Are you sure you can deal with it?
She was forgetting who I was. Maybe it was time for Earth to accept me for who I was.
Statia, could you formalise the agreements and get them finalised? There will be no votes. I will be the titular head of the Earth Alliance, with Sarah as my Consort, Luke as my Champion, Alakaʻi as my chief advisor, and Mike as my Chancellor. Julie will head up my investigation arm, reinstating her ISID connections. We will use Mike and Luke's assets to fill the gaps, and there are some surprisingly good resources. I will set up current settlement heads into some form of advisory council. The First Cohort will be subtended to Earth Alliance. Notify Xarius to recall all of the First Cohort. Delay faction-wide notifications until further notice. I will take the title of Imperial Regent.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Statia: Done. I have sent a System-Sanctioned Agreement to all the relevant people. Pending the acceptance of Hydrox, Amy, and you as Luke's proxy, it should all be agreed upon. I had to change your title; I put you down for Supreme Commander.
Are you sure you are not related to Bug?
Despite my initial dislike for my AI, she had grown on me and was quite competent. She was not a replacement for Bug—never that—but I was happy with her development and our budding interdependency.
Statia: The remnants of Bug's core have been reintegrated into the System Imperial AI Subsystem. They have been integrated into some of my filters, and I have given them priority out of respect.
Please don't, I would rather you be you. Bug was… special to me.
Statia: Acknowledged. Based on our interactions, I will work to develop a more personable profile for my interactions with you and reduce Bug's implicit input.
Thank you.
Earth Inc and IPC Merger: Approved. See the Earth Alliance Management Subsection for details. Notifications Suppressed.
Congratulations: Title Obtained: Imperial Regent.
Due to the title being lower quality than your current title, "Emperess", no bonuses have been awarded.
Statia: They both agreed. The updated charter, essentially a name change, has been pushed to everyone. No acceptance is required. Nanite upgrades are in progress, and it will take three months to upgrade to Earth Alliance V1. Anyone on Tier 1-3 will be forced to upgrade, and anyone on Tier 4 or 5 will be unaffected. Mike is trying to contact you. I will respond on your behalf and let you deal with the Karass. Xarius confirmed his orders and cursed you.
I should have let them know. Xarius will be grumpy with me. See if you can get Tasar to leave his temporal prison so he can come and help me. Bribe him if you must. We may need his insights; despite his erratic nature, he gets results and knows what he is talking about.
Statia: The meeting will occur in the secure High Energy Room in Flex Tech. Laurent will take you there as a guide.
Despite my decisiveness in dealing with the Earth Alliance, I was nervous and unsure about this upcoming meeting. I didn’t want to delve too much into psycho analysing myself. My previous encounters with a Karassian had not turned out well, and that was with the person who was supposed to have become my Imperial Consort.
Can you dig up any information on Apha, the Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin? Pay up to Tier 4 in the store, ping Acto, and get him on it. I'd like to know as much as possible.
It wasn’t long before I learned how little we knew about the Karass. Well, I knew the Empire knew next to nothing, but it was downright appalling for the little that Statia found in the store. I could have had more information if I had access to the Imperial City and its fully functioning Information Brokers. Here I had the store, Acto and Julie, if I could convince her to resume her investigative duties.
Apha: Current Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin.
1025th in line for the position of Warlord.
83% Splice Integrity.
Intelligent, Cunning, Ambitious.
Current Location: Unknown.
I'd have to think on my feet based on that information. All I knew was that the translation to Coyote was an Earth reference, and I pulled up information that cunning, social, and scavengers were the main behaviours. Being a Berserk faction would also indicate aggression. He was better than The Crow, who was just a jerk regardless of his splicing.
Laurent led me to the meeting room and excused himself, claiming he needed to procure some fresh ingredients for a meal to de-stress me. If it was a good meal, I was going to poach him and put him on my staff.
Sue, Simon and Allen were all present and waiting for me.
I had yet to meet Allen and was surprised when he bowed low, "Greetings, your Imperial Highness; Harold entrusts his fledgling Interface Framework to your care."
Shit, where does Allen sit when it comes to our organisation?
Statia: His authority comes from his association with Harold and some of his skills. He has almost total access to the workings of the interfaces and Nanite OS. I would not be surprised if he became a Framework Architect, the equivalent of a System Administrator. He is bound to the Alliance. I am unsure of his exact abilities or the extent of his powers.
What is the difference between a System and a Framework?
Statia: At our level, semantics and dogma. At Harold's level, I would be guessing.
"Thank you, Framework Architect Allen."
He looked surprised at the title. I figured I'd let him know I knew what he could do.
Sue and Simon were impatient. Simon, the former Chief of Army, was busy coordinating with Xarius, so I could imagine why he was impatient. There was so much to get done, and we were working on a clock counting down with no idea what the timer was set to.
I smiled at Sue and then Simon. I didn’t have much time for grumpy or impatient military people, and if Xarius couldn't criticise me, I was not letting Simon.
As we entered the chamber and took our seats at the conference table, his voice was gruff and unfriendly.
"What do we know about Apha? Or him being the Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin?"
"Not much. Amy said he seemed desperate. I'd as soon kill him as listen to him. You cannot trust a Karassian." Not that I was bitter at all. Shit, I'd have to reign that in and at least listen to him.
This would have been so much easier back in the Imperial City with all my father's former advisors. Or maybe not now. With the way the Imperial Senate was, there was no telling how many Karass agents there were.
We watched as some scientists started to power up the portal.
"I thought they were all slaughtered by that incursion in the lab."
Sue said: "We were quite lucky that we got some volunteers to be Symbiont Hosts. Each person there has a host, much like Amy and Eddy, although not quite as integrated. Eddy was able to make the process much less traumatic. Thanks to Allen and Harold, there are also fewer loopholes for the Symbionts to take advantage of."
I had never seen a portal generated by pure tech before. The Empire had not needed science for millennia; I had only seen magic, skill, or system-generated portals.
This was beautiful and seemed more dangerous at the same time. The most significant difference was that it was externally powered and could be run by anyone with sufficient power sources and knowledge. It was no different from magic or skills, but once the technology was created, it was easier to train someone else to develop and use it; the users did not need to be the genius who made it.
As we waited, the portal snapped open. More dangerous than a spell or skill. Even behind the protective barriers and the System shielding, I could feel the brute force approach to punching a hole in the dimensional barrier.
That was how I had been taught to view the entire portal and teleportation concepts; there was no proper explanation, as a spell was different to a skill, and other schools of magic used various methods to connect two points of time and space. Wholistic theories and science could both be right and wrong at the same time. A single mage could disprove, or at least make a more scientific approach meaningless, yet be unable to explain what they did. The System facilitated much to make a mockery of reality.
Apha, a hated Karassian, Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin, emerged from the blue mirror-like surface of the portal. I didn’t know what I expected, as my exposure to Karassian scum had been limited despite my position in the Empire. The Crow, my tormentor, thank the gods he was dead, had been more human than avian. I didn't know his splice level, but after seeing Apha, I knew it was low. Apha's report said his splice integrity was 83%. Seeing him, I was guessing that it indicated how much Coyote genetic material had been integrated into his genome.
Surprisingly, I found him striking. He was covered in sleek, tawny fur, sharp ears and an elongated muzzle. His eyes glinted and were set back in the sides of his canine-like head. As he moved, muscles rippled beneath his fur, suggesting both strength and agility.
He stopped and sniffed, and then, even though he was behind the protective barriers, he bowed low.
The portal snapped shut.
I identified him.
Apha: Karass. Level 37 Royal Vizier. Tier 3.
Royal Vizier of The Berserk Coyote Kin. (KoS)
I nodded to the scientists and spoke, using a comms device to project my voice past the barriers, "Talk. You have five minutes, and then we re-open the portal, and you leave. Convince me why you should not be destroyed."
Sue and Simon seemed surprised at my threats, but I guess they had not been told of my personal history with the Karass. Being kidnapped, poisoned and held in stasis for a few thousand years tends to sour relationships.
His voice was nothing like I imagined, smooth and surprisingly calm.
"I wish to surrender."
Statia, suppress system notifications until we end this; I don't want interference.
Statia: Done.
"Explain. You have four minutes 30 seconds."
"Mistress, you must accept this. No tricks. What do you know of this conquest event?"
I remained silent.
Simon spoke up, "Not much. Your species invaded my planet and are currently subjugating most of it to acquire slaves and resources. Why do you want to surrender?"
"Ah, good Master, a free Earth Human. Good. Good. I offer knowledge and hope for you."
I shook my head at Sue to silence her and spoke, "Offer something concrete. What knowledge, what hope?"
He remained calm. I was not sure I could stand in a fairly bare room with no one and talk to unseen people.
"My faction, The Berserk Coyote Kin, sacrificed generations of wealth for this opportunity. I was to return and progress into the realms of the Assembly of the Valliant, our ruling body, the top one thousand leaders within the collective. We sent our young to the front lines and sold our weak and ineffectual. A small strike force was sent here to lead Zone Three."
"Six other strike forces were sent, all as agreed by the contract we were to ratify once the System Integration took place. I was to take control of this facility. Due to the incompetence of our pre-integration insurgents, we had to use our secondary plan."
"So Noah stuffed up, and you got booted to Sydney. Boo Hoo." Sue could not help herself.
"Yes, yes. It was good and bad. We harvested, collected and stored resources in preparation to move them off-world."
I chimed in, "The Murhog."
He spat. "Those dishonorable ……." The translator did not manage to translate his curse as he spat again. "The Ambassador had an agreement. We, The Coyote Kin, wanted to level, gain power and embrace the new planet, not pillage it and move on. There is no challenge or benefit. The Prism rewards challenge, not exploitation."
I didn’t like that, it seemed too much like the System, rewards for pushing and challenging yourself.
"Information. You are still on a timer."
"We lost an entire Zone to an energy leech. A blight. Then another. We were not ready. Something deep in this planet is resisting integration."
Shit. Selwin.
"So why does that lead you to surrender?"
"We used our last resort weapons, or the closer zones did, and they didn’t work. Using them so early in an Invasion Event was embarrassing and costly."
Simon was interested, "What weapons?"
"Soul Enhanced Heavy Phase Torpedo. A weapon that should never be used if you plan on inhabiting a planet. Fully one-third of your planet is becoming a barren wasteland, yet it did nothing to stop the spread of the Blight."
I had to stop Sue and Simon. It was ridiculous that I was showing more restraint than them in the face of a Karass agent.
I turned off the comms, "Focus. If they had to do that, we need intel."
"What does this mean?"
"Zones are gone, entire strike forces. But politics makes it worse. The Warlord. He has cut us loose. The Rite of Tildah. This ensures the Karass cannot fail an Invasion."
"Explain. We no nothing of Karass politics."
"The Ambassador to the Empire brokered this Invasion, bumping it forward several centuries to take advantage of the turmoil of the Empire. Rumor is that he overextended. The Warlord will sacrifice this planet to limit Rulzoff's power with The Rite of Tildah."
"You have said that twice. What is it?"
"Invocation and summoning of the shades of Tildah, the fragments of the Karass homeward that survived its destruction. Kinetic bombardment with monolithic reconstructions of our home world. Four will ensure that nothing survives, ten were used when the last Blight was eradicated, and he has summoned 18."
"When, how can we stop them?"
"Less than six of your months. Once started, the Rite cannot be stopped; in the past, one or two have been destroyed in space, but never more. It is inevitable. They will enter this solar System soon. "
Shit.
"So why do you want to surrender?"
"Already, the other zones are starting to evacuate. There were two Ascendant, or Tier 4 leaders, here as guests, and they have coordinated the evacuation of other zones and are currently stripping resources off the planet. The Karass are abandoning this planet. It is a free-for-all."
"Why do you want to surrender?"
"The Karass has betrayed me. My kin in the Collective are hostage, and with the failure of this mission, they will become slaves if they are lucky. I have no future in there, no power, nothing."
Statia: I believe that he has integrated some of Harold's Nanites, and they are causing a destabilising effect on his connections to the Prism.
Shit. This could be an opportunity. Shit. I hate them so much.
Statia: I can suppress that for a bit if you like.
Crap, I hate doing that, but we need this.
"What of all the slaves and the captives," Sue asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Due to the Blight and your Paragon's rampage, the Murhog relocated all their stockpiles to the city of Sydney. We have almost 20% of your population in stasis, undergoing conditioning."
"If you want to surrender, you must stop the conditioning." Sue snapped.
"It's not safe, but we can do that. I am surrendering so that you can save me and the remainder of my Strike Force. We need to evacuate the planet before the Rite concludes."
Simon asked, "So you have roughly 5 million people in stasis near Sydney. You want us to evacuate. How do we move them?"
Apha looked at him, "No, two billion. That is 25% of the population of the planet, which is the majority of the remainder of your species."
Shit.
Sue looked sick. "Which zones, no, countries, were bombed with that soul torpedo?"
Apha continued, resigned and calm, "Most of what you would call Aisa and the southern part of Africa. It was unfortunate, as these were the most profitable areas. The Karass lost one Ascendant and two powerful War Leaders."
Statia: From my information, those two areas contained nearly 65-70% of this planet's population. That means that those in stasis are close to what is left of the world's population.
Shit. Don't let Sue or Simon know yet; we need to get this sorted.
"What forces and what are you surrendering?" Simon asked.
"The remainder of my strike force. Fifteen hundred elite warriors and their support crew."
Sue said, "Slavery is illegal in the Earth Alliance."
Statia: It wasn't, but I guess it is now.
Well, I know that Luke and Sarah are pretty anti-slavery. We need to make it more explicit. Can you push that out to the council when appropriate?
Statia: Done. I am pretty sure that Sue will ensure it is done. What are you going to do about this? It is unprecedented that a Karass agent is surrendering.
I am not sure.
"What assurances do we have that this is above board and not some Karass ploy?"
For the first time, Apha looked uneasy. "I cannot return to the Collective, and The Prism does not tolerate betrayal." He laughed, "Unless it is the betrayer. That is the only reason we can talk. I can suppress some of the loyalty routines; my splicing is fighting. If you do not accept my surrender, I am a dead man."
He laughed again, "We are all dead anyway."