Admiral Rodriguez paces back and forth across the Bloodbearer's Bridge, its primary command center with more than three hundred consoles. Seventy percent of their chairs sit occupied by Kessu officers, while the remainder seat Kraktol. Despite fewer Kraktol working on the Bloodbearer compared to the Kessu, they still possess a substantial presence among the conglomerate army's upper ranks, if only for the sake of fairness.

José arrives at Soren's console. As the second in command aboard the Bloodbearer, she wields more authority than anyone aside from the Admiral himself. His Second Officer points at a series of dots hovering around Veter's orbit, many of which she had not noticed during their initial arrival earlier.

"Kyargh! It's just like you explained, Admiral," Soren says. "I changed our scanning methods, and already, I've detected more than one hundred... anomalies."

"This is the Buzor's greatest secret," José says, darkly. "Those bugs were craftier than we expected. They pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. Open up a channel with the planet's central government."

"Yes, Admiral."

Soren presses a few buttons on her console. Moments later, the face of a remarkably adorable, yet somehow equally regal-looking ferret-biped appears onscreen. The leader of the Varot, someone who calls himself the Supreme One, begins conversing with the Admiral.

"Long-lost Precursor technology," José explains, as he transmits his data to the Varot leader. "Your scanners are too primitive to detect these so-called anomalies. Luckily, I have experienced this sort of thing before."

The Supreme One cocks his head as he opens up the scanner files. "Cheeurr! I do not understand, Admiral Rodriguez. What are these dots? They appear to be blank patches of space hanging above my world's atmosphere."

"Those are the Buzor's space-worthy vessels," José replies. "The reason you cannot detect them is because... they are not starships. Not in the traditional sense. They are biologically-grown vessels. In essence, giant Buzor created for the sole purpose of transporting their normal-sized kin across space."

The Supreme One's expression shifts to alarm. "What?! I have heard of the Buzor possessing space-capable bio-bodies. However, their flight cannot even breach the warp-speed barrier! How could these bio-constructs arrive en-masse to our system undetected? Have they been traveling in our direction for decades?"

"There are two reasons," José answers. "The first is that the Buzor have kept their intelligence close to their thoraxes for millennia. They have constantly worked to present themselves as slow, dim-witted, unthinking primitives. While the Mallali, Avaru, and Rodaks warred among one another, the Buzor put up a façade of internal strife while also making any gains that might be made from plundering their worlds seem as unappealing as possible. In this way, they avoided any detailed examinations of their warfare capabilities. Nobody expects much of a bunch of weaklings."

The Admiral continues. "Secondly, the Buzor actually possess vastly inferior space-based weaponry. If a basic first-era interceptor from the Core were to find and attack these 'bio-bodies,' it would shred them into meat-chunks without any resistance. These flesh-carriers are suitable only for troop transportation, and nothing else. Sadly, for you Mallali, they do have two potent secrets contained within their frames."

The Admiral manipulates one of the Bloodbearer's many highly-advanced, 50th-Era sensor arrays. He points it at one of the random 'empty' patches of space, then narrows the sensor beam to a tight-range sensory pulse. Immediately, a crystal-clear image of a humongous, worm-like creature appears in the center of the Bridge, its holographic appearance causing many of the officers present to pull back in disgust.

"The Buzor do not use traditional Warp Drives to traverse the distance between stars," José explains. "Instead, they use an ancient, long-lost Precursor technology known as 'P-Space Drives.' Unlike the traditional Warp Drives which you are no-doubt familiar, P-Space Drives do not accelerate the Buzor's carapaces beyond warp-speed. Instead, they travel at 99% the speed of light, but also step inside of a dimension adjacent to ours, where space itself is five factors more condensed. The distances between stars shrink dramatically inside P-Space, allowing ships traveling slower than Warp Speed to move between star systems and galaxies at accelerated speeds."

"However..." The Admiral says, his voice assuming a tone of warning, "P-Space drives are exceptionally dangerous. In Precursor times, they possessed a 20% death rate among those who attempted to use them. This is because gravity wells become immensely more powerful. If a pilot were to lose focus for even a minute, they might steer their ship into the reach of a red giant or a black hole, causing their ship to vanish from existence, forever. On the other hand, ships which enter P-Space become extremely difficult to track. Sensors function terribly inside P-Space. Unlike Warp Drives, which release tachyon emissions prior to their arrival, P-Space drives allow their ships to emerge directly inside the center of civilized space without warning. This is why you were unable to detect the Buzor's arrival."

The Supreme One flattens his ears. "This is... grave news, Admiral. How could the Buzor obtain such precious technology under our noses?"

"Perhaps you should ask the Alfras," José says, cryptically. "In any case, P-Space drives were once ideal during Precursor times for unsavory spacers, such as smugglers and pirates. The Buzor have enhanced their usage by growing these specialized bio-ships, which function as living sensor inhibitors. They release zero emissions, while also warping space around themselves, allowing them to sneak past even the most heavily-armed military blockades. Their stealth systems, combined with their internalized P-Space Traversal Drives, have given the Buzor an incredible advantage in stealth-warfare. Even now that you know of their existence, your scanners are simply too primitive to detect them. They can run roughshod over all the Mallali worlds."

After the Terran concludes his explanation, silence descends upon the call.

The Supreme One contemplates the Admiral's words for more than a minute.

Eventually, he nods.

"Thank you, Admiral Rodriguez. Were it not for your intervention, my world would have fallen. We Varot pledge to serve as your allies, no matter who stands against us."

"That is a kind offer," José says. "I will... take it under consideration. In the meantime, you may leave the warfare to my soldiers. Focus your internal efforts on putting out fires, cleaning up any Buzor we might have missed, and saving civilians caught in the crossfire."

The Supreme One bows at the waist.

"As you command!"

The Bloodbearer's communications cut off, and the Bridge once again falls quiet.

Soren rises from her seat. She walks over to José's side, gazing at him pensively.

"Admiral. Why didn't you tell the Supreme One all of the facts? You left out quite a bit of information."

"He doesn't need to know," José murmurs. "My fight is not with the Buzor, the Mallali, the Avaru, nor the Rodaks. I have given him a hint, one which he can relay to the Alfras. That, alone, is enough to even the balance of power."

The Terran calls up another projection, this time focusing on the geography of Veter's surface.

"When we first arrived, I assumed the Buzor had snuck onto Veter via a warp-gate once controlled by Ramma's Chosen. However, I realized that so many troops could not flood through a single gate so quickly. More likely, several elite troops entered via a warp-gate, sabotaged the Varot's scanning capabilities, and thus allowed their bio-ships to travel here undetected."

The Terran purses his lips. "Yama is here. I know it. This attack has his fingerprints all over it. The other invasions are only distractions, while this one is too personal, too targeted to be an act of randomness."

The Admiral pauses for a moment before nodding at his Second Officer. "Prep the Slipstream. Find Grundle and Sapphire. You and I will join them. We're heading down to the surface."

She nods. "Yes, Admiral. But... don't you think we should stay up here to monitor the war?"

"No," José replies. He gestures toward a Kessu seated at one of the many tactical officer seats. "I'll leave that responsibility to Baaru. She can coordinate with Forward Commander Ruuki to handle the Buzor."

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"Alright," Soren nods. "I'll have the Slipstream ready in ten minutes."

Soren turns and stomps away, leaving the Admiral behind. He sighs.

"Umi, transport me to Storage Facility 11A."

"Orders acknowledged, Admiral," Umi beeps.

A moment later, lights swirl around José. He vanishes from the Bridge and instantly reappears a kilometer and a half toward the Bloodbearer's rear. He arrives inside a small, secret containment chamber where only he himself possesses the credentials to enter.

Inside, countless top-level secret Terran artifacts cling to the walls, rest inside bio-containers, or sit inside of practically-indestructible exotic canisters.

The Admiral immediately walks toward the opposite side of the room, where a metallic suit of armor hovers in midair above a desk.

"Yama. You killed me once. That was my mistake. I did not know of your existence."

The Admiral grabs the suit of armor. He begins attaching it to himself, wrapping it around his chest while allowing its automated actuators to comfortably adjust to his physique.

The Terran's eyes glow with deadly intent.

"This time... I will not fail. You will perish when next we meet, heretic."

.......................................

In the skies above Veter, countless 50th and 51st-Era interceptors circle around, performing impossibly tight banks and maneuvers while streams of energy-based projectiles fire from their guns with unerring accuracy. Any flying Buzor in the area explode like grenades, their bodies blown to pieces thanks to the practiced maneuvers of the Kraktol and Kessu pilots.

Even further above the planet, the Buzor's bio-ships blare with internal alarms. The Bloodbearer, once thought to have been incapable of detecting them, fires hundreds of artillery cannons toward the Buzor's troop transports. Despite traveling at relativistic speeds and allowing the Buzor plenty of time to evade, the missiles and smart-rounds possess homing capabilities, causing the Buzor engineers to screech in terror.

Dozens of bio-ships explode to pieces, spraying blood and gore all across Veter's orbit. The ships that evade the first salvos still inevitably perish to the second, third, and fourth follow-up attacks.

[Chrrrrt! The Terran knows! He has detected our presence!] One of the remaining Cantor commanders chitters. [We must leave this planet's orbit at once!]

[Belay that order,] A Mitteras commander replies, the drone straightening its posture. [The Dark One has commanded us to delay the Terran while preparing his ultimate weapon.]

[We cannot trust the Dark One!] The Cantor replies. [Chrrrrt! The Dark One is using us! I have warned you countless times!]

[Your lack of faith betrays your lack of conviction. My Queen will never make a mistake!] The giant-ant counters. [My Queen has led our kind to glory. Soon, the Mallali shall fall, along with the Avaru and the Rodaks. Buzor-kind will prevail! If we must sacrifice our lives for the sake of our species, then we shall do so with exuberance.]

[I care not for your hive's ways!] The giant-centipede chitters. [Your unflinching loyalty to your queen is an act of foolishness! We must return to P-Space before the next attack reaches us!]

[I command this vessel in my Queen's name!] The Mitteras commander says, puffing out its thorax. Despite the immense size difference between its body and the thirty-foot-long Cantor, it never reveals a hint of fear. [I will gladly give my life for my Queen!]

[Chrrrrt! Then you can die in her honor!] The Cantor replies. Immediately, the huge bug lunges toward its smaller prey.

A war breaks out on the bio-ship's Bridge as two other nearby Cantor join in, only for them to cry out in pain when more than a hundred Mitteras drones swarm inside. The seemingly unstoppable Cantor find themselves overrun by the Mitteras shock troopers, who bite onto the narrow gaps in their bodies and tear them apart with their talons. While the Cantor easily slaughter several Mitteras drones, they fail to win the engagement, and eventually fall to pieces, devoured and ripped apart by the smaller hiveminds.

[Selfish individualists,] the still-living Mitteras commander sneers. [The Hive conquers all. The Hive overruns and overtakes. We prevail in our Queen's name!]

A minute later, his bio-vessel explodes under a hailstorm of Terran ordinance, joining all of the other destroyed ships in Veter's orbit.

...

With all of the Buzor shredded, a single Corvette-sized spacecraft circles above Veter's atmosphere. This vessel, one of only a few-dozen 51st-Era ships that have ever existed, descends toward the ground below. It ignores the war commencing on the planet's surface, where millions of Buzor flee the wrath of fires spat from above.

This vessel, the Slipstream, eventually drops toward a seemingly unimportant forest located on one of Veter's less-inhabited continents. While millions of Varot still live across hundreds of cities and inside many small towns, one particularly dense tree canopy, filled with 500-foot-tall arboreal growths, makes a standard approach nearly impossible.

Admiral Rodriguez, seated on the Bridge, frowns.

"This is the place. It seems a lot has changed over the years."

He wears a highly-advanced Enforcer Battlesuit, one comprised of thin but robust exotic alloys capable of taking a serious beating. Even sturdier than the Admiral's built-in Dermal Armor, the battlesuit also bears dozens of miniaturized weapons, utility modules, and other such systems designed purely for taking down the greatest threat to the galaxy: the Demon Emperor, Yama.

"The forest below us did not exist in my era," José explains to his Bridge crew. These include Soren, Sapphire, and Grundle, as well as a few dozen Kessu. "Rather, the entire area for multiple miles in every direction was once a paved landing zone for spacecraft. Ramma's Chosen kept the heart of the military operations sequestered deep underground, where even a dedicated orbital bombardment would find it difficult to wipe them all out. If I've guessed correctly, Yama is already here, waiting for us. He knows about my people, and therefore, potentially knows about our Rip-Gate and other secret projects."

"What if he doesn't, Darling?" Sapphire asks.

"Well, that's good for us," José answers. "It means Ramma's most essential base hasn't been taken over by heretics. We'll likely find all kinds of useful goodies and technology stored underground, though much of it may have deteriorated to the passage of time. But, realistically, I'd guess Yama has raided those coffers already. That's why, when I eventually leave, you must take care in the future when dealing with the Buzor. P-Space Drives and advanced stealth technology are likely far from the most potent tricks they can unleash."

The mention of José's eventual departure casts a damper on everyone's moods. Sapphire's expression becomes momentarily despondent as she imagines her beloved Admiral leaving her behind without any hatchlings.

"Darling..."

"Don't think you can convince me otherwise," José immediately retorts. "I've made up my mind. I will only stay in this galaxy until I successfully eradicate Yama, or until he kills me, instead. Either way, once I fulfill my objective, I'll leave."

She lowers her head. "I see."

The Slipstream slowly lowers into the forest canopy. Hundreds of lasers fire from its sides, sweeping outward with scything motions. The Corvette-sized ship rapidly cuts into the undergrowth, scorching, burning, and erasing any trees and other foliage in its wake. It additionally clears a hundred feet of free space around itself for security purposes before dropping to the ground-level.

Just before landing, Synthmind 4131 beeps a warning. "Admiral Rodriguez. This synthmind has detected an anomalous level of temporal disruptions [FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN] meters beneath Veter's soil. Based on conjecture and [THREE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND FOUR] simulated possibilities, I have concluded that someone is currently attempting to activate the Rip-Gate you have come here in pursuit of."

The Admiral flinches. "What? Damn. I guess that's that, then. There are no coincidences. Yama does know about the Rip-Gate. He..."

José pauses. A strange look appears in his eyes.

"...could it be?"

Noticing her Admiral's strange expression, and having spent years growing accustomed to his mannerisms, Soren glances at him suspiciously. "What's going on, José? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

The Admiral slowly nods.

"Something has just occurred to me. Demons cannot utilize technology. There is only one demoness in recorded history who broke that rule, but she was a human-educated aberrant. Despite this limitation, demons can still get other species to manipulate technology for them."

Grundle stands up from his chair. "Graugh! Admiral, do you mean that Yama has brought some technically-minded slaves along to activate the Rip-Gate on his behalf?"

"Yes. Specifically, he must still possess some Kessu operatives. Remember, Science Officer Lorrie was just one of many Kessu forced to follow Yama's orders. He likely still possesses others. The question is... why would he need them to activate the Rip-Gate?"

"You look as if you have an idea," Soren answers. "But I'm guessing he plans to flee through it to some other galaxy, or timeline, or whatever. Kyargh! I still don't fully understand how Rip-Gates work."

"Fleeing would certainly be in Yama's nature," José mutters. "But there is another, even more frightening possibility. He may intend to use the gate as a way of bringing other entities to our universe."

A moment of silence swallows the air. Then, Soren's expression shifts to alarm.

"O-other demons! Don't tell me that wretched monster wishes to summon other Emperors to our reality!"

"That might just be it," José growls. "Son of a bitch. I didn't even think of it before. Why would he wait until now to activate the Rip-Gate? The answer is obvious. He's had Kessu slaves all along. He could have done so whenever he wanted. However, Yama is a greedy bastard. He'd never want to share this galaxy with another Emperor. He'd only do so if a situation arose out of his control. He'd only do so if a threat appeared. Me."

The Terran shakes his head wryly. "If I fail to kill Yama, it will truly be the Milky Way's end. Compared to other Demon Emperors, he's a simple fellow with glaringly obvious weaknesses. If he were to bring Demon Emperor Bael here, or some other equally powerful monster from the Uprising Era, not even I could save the Sentients of today."

Immediately, the Admiral spins on his heel. He marches toward the Bridge's exit while gesturing to his three strongest officers.

"Come on! We don't have time to lose!"

Soren, Sapphire, and Grundle all growl in approval.

"Yes, Admiral!"

They quickly follow after him, activating their armor systems along the way. While not quite as powerful as José's exotic-laced Enforcer Battlesuit, theirs still stand at the apex of the 50th Era's mightiest infantry warsuits, equipped with many Yama-slaying assault modules.

The three Kraktol grab energy shotguns and flamethrowers, ideal for spreading light and damage over a wide area, then charge through the Slipstream's exit ramp to follow their Admiral.

He, in turn, walks to a certain spot, glances around, and transmits a code over his cerebral comm array.

Before the Admiral, the ground rumbles violently. A huge chunk of soil slants upward, opening further and further to reveal a set of metallic stairs leading into the planet's depths. Though pitch-black past a certain point and smelling of stale oxygen, none of his three Kraktol officers wavers.

José's expression turns solemn.

"Yama's time among the living must immediately come to an end, or our galaxy will soon fall."