"Lost contact? Impossible", the tall, imposing Karass Warlord thundered, thumping the table before him and cracking it. He took a drag on his bone-carved pipe, savouring the smoke and other substances.

Exhaling the smoke with a cough, "Do we need to marshal the tribes?"

Qul, the First Minister, flinched and spoke quietly, "Warlord, please, listen."

Ar'eok, the Warlord, scowled, waving his hand, "Go on."

Qul flipped to his page in the report he was carrying and read, "Groq'ils continues, Three out of seven Settlements are lost to an unknown blight. They are spreading and compromising the mission. Deployment of a Soul Enhanced Heavy Phase Torpedo slowed but didn't stop the spread. Total isolation and containment is the only viable strategy."

"They deployed their last resort this early? Incompetent. Who is overseeing the mission?"

Qul smiled, happy to divert some attention away from himself, "Rulzoff-Urd, the Ambassador to the Empire, proposed this and bankrolled the minimum 30%."

The Warlord thought briefly, speaking softly, "We sent him away because he was gaining traction with the tribes. Can we afford to lose this planet?"

Qul, "I have already indicated that they cannot afford to fail and that we will enact the Rite of Tildah. We have 18 prepared; seven should be sufficient. The loss will slow the real war efforts and put us at odds with the Murhog, who are already pulling out due to unforeseen losses and irregularities."

Ar'eok scowled again, "Unfortunate, but not a loss, they were expendable in our war efforts. What are the irregularities?"

Once again, Qul flipped through the report: "The Blight, an error with one Settlement being stolen before integration, Three Paragon-level threats, and an emergent AI. One Invasion has been stopped by one of the Paragons, and The Drakes are sniffing around. Judgement has conducted active operations at our behest to receive the Engrams of the Emperor, and lastly, our captured rogue AI was caught after the collapse of our trap."

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"Ahhh, I remember now. How often must we look like fools before dealing with this decisively? Damn Rulzoff. He is too sneaky and backstabs where he should be forward and fight."

"Rulzoff still has some utility. He has countered one of the Paragons. It cost him dearly to interfere with the teleportation network. I fear he is burning Karma and we will suffer for it."

"What is the price to take him out? Contact The Judgement again; be more persuasive."

Prism: You are unable to act directly in this matter. It is still externally limited to Tier 3. We have two Tier 4 agents there as guests, but at the moment, I would prefer not to entangle the Karass Collective in the confluence surrounding the planet. The Judgement has refused his contract. If you keep asking, he will find out.

Ar'eok took another pull from his pipe, "God, I hate you and your threats. I curse you." He spat on the stone floor beside his mighty chair. "You killed my son; you wasted five millennia in a 'trap' because you are too scared. Gah."

Qul tapped his forehead and then left shoulder while holding his left arm in a fist to ward off ill intent, " Rulzoff-Urd is meddling with an Empire Planet; we are not excluded from using that."

The Karass Warlord smiled, "Yes. Yes. Two tribes, none of whom are embroiled on that cursed planet. Send them. One, no two Paragons. Inform the Judgement that we are performing the Rite of Tildah, let the Murhog find out later, curse them."

"May I suggest Seraphine lead the Avian Syndicate and Grand Mage Valkarion to lead the Grave Shield? Air and ground. The birds and necromancers should take care of any resistance."

Ar'eok finished his pipe and filled it with herbs and two drops of liquid before lighting it again with a simple spell. With a cough, he pulled deeply on the pipe, holding the smoke. With another cough and smile, he said, "Start The Rite of Tildah."

Anxiously, Qul asked, "Seven?"

The Warlord smiled, "No, all of them."

He laughed, smoked his pipe, and lost himself in euphoria as Qul and The Prism tried to change his mind.