The capital of what Svetlana had decided to call the Shivan empire was an interesting system. None of her records, not even those that Ascension brought over from the Empire that Eyeball had been dealing with, like a star system with a planet-spanning city, had a fraction as many objects in it.
The most important was, of course, a single large, heavily populated world, with four functional space elevators, thousands of installations in space, a shipyard with dozens of warships of various size in production... and not a single other intact world. Every single other planet in the system had apparently been broken apart, turned into enormous chains of asteroids; many of which had habitats on them of various sizes.
They appeared to be slowly working to push the debris of all of the worlds into a single orbit; if she weren't ninety percent certain the locals lacked the technology for it, she'd think they were trying to build a Ringworld. As the fleet slowly coasted in, with one of the squids broadcasting an IFF signal to ensure they were recognized as fellow confederates, she ran the numbers, having the scanners do an assessment of all of the mass.
When the totals came back, and she determined that, if she herself were to try to build a ringworld, she'd need about half of that mass... she wondered. Did they already have a means, just a less advanced one, that needed more resources? Or... what was it all for?
As the fleet pulled to a stop, and she observed at least four separate local fleets; hundreds of them damaged, over three thousand strong total, mostly of lighter, destroyer-class ships; a comm signal arrived. After a few seconds, she settled into the captain's chair, tapped a few keys; and a holographic interface appeared; showing... one of the local descendants. Two arms, two legs. A strange suit of silver-grey armor that seemed to range from solid around the torso and fists to skin-tight around the arms and legs... even the individual toes were visible. And... of course, six eyes, in two clusters where human eyes would be; each including a single larger one, and two smaller ones, forming a triangle..
If not for the dark grey skin, and that the eyes were formed oddly, she could take it for a Marrick. She smiled. "I am Svetlana, creator and leader of the Ascension. We are not confederation members, but have agreed with the squids to help eradicate the Republic. I would like to request whatever information you can provide about your defenses so we can best assist you in crushing the incoming Republic fleet."
The figure studied her. Her own pale skin and dark hair, as well as her very shape, meant that if she were a descendant herself, she'd be an extremely unusual variant to his eyes. He gave an odd salute; both hands forming a triangle over his head, before snapping back to his sides. "I am his Emperor's direct representative, Fist of Lawbringer. I have already received appropriate confirmation from the squids about your purpose and trustworthiness. You may join the lines, so long as you subordinate yourself to my command. Do you have any new intelligence of the Republic's approach?"
She leaned forward, steepling her fingers and resting her chin on them, elbows on the armrests; the chair had adjusted itself to her size even before she sat down, or this would've been impossible. "I currently command most of the firepower in this star system, and will subordinate myself to no-one. The enemy is currently flying in a relatively straight line towards us. Its scouting elements are six days and eleven hours out, while the bulk of the fleet would arrive shortly after. They will undoubtedly divert and approach on a new direction after they hit the first barrier I've set in their path. We'll see what approach they'll take after that. If I can manage it, I'd like to bleed them with repeated strikes on their way in; fifteen thousand warships is a substantial number, and I'd like it to be smaller."
The shivan frowned. "Do you have additional ships that I don't see? There aren't even three hundred vessels before me, even counting the confederates alongside you."
"More are currently shadowing the Republic fleet, and others handling the remaining defenses at the shipyard. In the density of the interstellar medium here, they can use hyperdrives to dramatically outpace them. So far we haven't done anything to them... but within a few hours that will change."
The Fist looked down at his displays, then back up. "...Hyperdrives. I've heard of them. You possess these devices?"
"Quite a few. We may even be able to outfit some of your ships with them before the Republic arrives, if you can give me the specifications."
"...And what will this cost the Empire?"
"I would say nothing but the raw materials to make more, but honestly I'd just like the answer to a question. Why are you pushing all that mass into a ring around your star?"
The Fist gave a brief shrug. "It is a construction project millenia in the making. My grandfather started it over a thousand years ago, and when my father dies, I will continue it. It will take at least eight hundred more years, if we can avoid the Republic invading us that long. Still. I would like to arrange a meeting. The two types of ship we could most use the Hyperdrives for are our Battlecruisers and Destroyers. If you'd like, we can meet on one of them, your people can study it, and we can discuss plans while your people determine what we need to install these things."
Svetlana studied her display for a moment, and gave a curt nod. "It couldn't hurt to see one in person. Send over the specifications. I'll be over with a team shortly, just designate the target."
"Excellent. I'll contact the leaders of the Confederate and... pirate.... ships with you, invite them along if they choose to go." The shivan's image vanished.
Svetlana glanced back. Ascension was already feeding her updates on the team he was assembling. Hyperdrive parts being loaded onto a shuttle. One of his new cyborgs and a handful of machines for back-up, just in case. Not that she'd need it. It was doubtful the locals would try anything, and if they did, well. She wasn't worried.
***
Lawbringer studied the images for a moment; and then glanced at his security team. "Our scans have readings we frankly don't understand. We need to be absolutely certain of our preparations. I want plasma-weapons ready to kill any guards she has the moment she steps off the shuttle, vaporize the shuttle itself, and stun her, within fractions of a second, the moment the doors are fully open. These people are more advanced than we are, but we know just enough about their tech to take advantage; these 'hyperdrives' can't operate near a large gravity well. So... we grab her. Drop down into low orbit. And..... negotiate their surrender. With their leader in hand, and being so heavily outnumbered, we can secure their ships and fold their power into our own."
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The eight men, all wearing white-silver armor, gave their odd salute; and filed out, heading to the armory.
Lawbringer glanced back at the display. The Shivan empire needed every asset it could get hold of to defend itself and conquer the Republic. Apparently an incredibly valuable one had just walked into the palm of his hand. He merely needed to squeeze. He smiled. His father would be happy with this; he was already the favored to be heir, this should secure his position further.
***
The chosen battlecruiser was an interesting design; mostly a silver-white wedge in shape, it shrank down in the middle, then expanded back out; almost like the fore and tail wings of a jet, albeit greatly expanded in size. Thanks to the particulate hazards of warp travel many ships looked a bit aerodynamic; but it almost looked built to fly in an atmosphere, which should be impossible for a ship of that size.
Svetlana studied the design on her display on the shuttle ride over; they'd given her the needed schematics, and she was determining where the best place to cut back on mass to install a Hyperdrive would be when the docking process started; the battlecruiser had a bay for its craft large enough for the shuttle to actually float inside, and settle down for a landing.
Two of the Ascension drones were waiting on either side of the door, one of her freshly-built Cyborgs; this one appearing to be one of the blue-skinned descendants; waiting behind her, as the ramp extended, and the door started to open.
She was a few steps down, looking around; her eyes focusing on Fist Lawbringer, the odd, grey-skinned descendant in charge here; when a sudden series of bright flashes lit up her vision in fractions of a second.
One moment, everything was fine. The next... she couldn't see out of her left eye. The shuttle was badly damaged. Both Ascension drones were... completely gone.... and she was lying on the deck beside t he ramp, staring at the ceiling out of her right eye. Her head hurt. She could smell smoke. Was her hair on fire?
The Shivan; Fist Lawbringer; was walking forward, and stood over her as she blinked. "Ahh. Apologies, that was a mistake. It was supposed to be merely a stun weapon, but your physiology doesn't match what we usually use it on."
Svetlana focused on him. For a moment, there was fear. Panic.
It quickly subsided. Svetlana whispered to herself. "....Yes. That was a mistake."
Lawbringer chuckled, and leveled a handgun of some sort on her; this one didn't appear to be a stun weapon. "Don't worry. We have some of the best doctors in the sector. We'll get you sorted out. In the meantime... just lay flat. We'll be checking you for weapons and putting you in the brig, for now. Don't call your fleet, or we'll have to take measures to... discourage you."
Vision was slowly coming back. Her implants fixing the eye surprisingly well. She blinked again, as the left eye's vision became a bright blur instead of darkness. She thought for a moment. She knew the layout of this ship. The idiot had sent it to her. The shuttle... probably inoperable. She focused. "Surrender immediately and I will spare your species. Your death is inevitable; but if you don't force me to take violent action here, I'll spare your homeworld."
The man blinked. The disgusting, insectoid eyes showing an almost human surprise response. "What arrogance. Lying helpless on the deck of my ship, no bodyguards, no way out.... Just how foolish are you?"
She focused for a moment. She'd been practicing. She knew these powers better than Ripper ever had; he was just a simpleton, after all, some paid government stooge. Little better than a common street thug. He had to be 'touching' something to bring it with him. Purely a psychological limitation; after all, you weren't really ever 'touching' anything. The vague connection to the floor, his body, herself... it was plenty. And Ripper had to go along with the object. Her? Ohhh, no. All she had to do was push.
She focused on his arm. One moment, it was there, holding a handgun. The next... it was gone. The vile creature's blood was splattering out onto the deck, even as she rose... the guards own weapons simply vanishing, alongside parts of their limbs, as she slowly pulled to her feet.
The man stared at his severed limb, clutching it with his other hand, staring at it in horror, then looking at her. "No.. I... I..." He contemplated her words, and what he'd just seen, for a moment. This... this being was beyond anything he'd imagined. "I... I surrender! We'll take you back to your ship immediately!"
She glanced at him. "...No. Too late." She snapped her fingers. The figure went limp. Despite their mangled forms, the guards charged at her... only to collapse themselves in mid-stride. She was sure the view would be disgusting when she transitioned to the other side, floating bits of internal organs and body parts; she hadn't bothered to learn this subspecies well enough to disable it with precision, but nothing could survive with a cubic foot of its torso or head simply gone.
She looked down at the mess on the ground, and shook her head. This was a mistake. Helping these Shivans at all. They were too close to the Founders, shared too much of their mindset, their biological programmed feeling of superiority. There was only one solution for that. She'd need to get this ship far enough out that she could be picked up in hyperspace first; it would take months for her to get that far, floating on her own on the other side.
Then.... she could deal with these things. Anything that she left behind would be handled by whatever was left of the Republic fleet when they showed up.
***
Shoork captain Plakar frowned at the new orders passed down from Ascension; re-enter hyperdrive when ready and withdraw from the system to rendezvous point Alpha? Plakar blinked, staring at her display for a moment where it floated, projected in the pristine, clear water of her bridge. All of the Shivan vessels in the system had just been flagged as hostile, the other confederates as unknown.... what had happened? Still. She passed the order to her subordinates, watching the pirate ships blink out of existence. She was supposed to be on the way to meet the Shivan commander; there was some sort of inspection of one of his ships going on, and had been in the process of emptying the cabin into the water tanks, filling it with air instead.... but she'd been turned around while en route at a signal from the human woman and gone right back to the water again.
She'd barely gotten back to her ship, only barely swum onto her own bridge again, only to receive this order.... she glanced at her nav officer. "Power up the hyperdrive and get ready. We'll confirm this is valid first, but order everyone to..."
The display changed. The ship that the human and the enemy leader had been inspecting had been heading out away from the inhabited world, and had just stopped. And now....an Ascension ship had just appeared next to it, clearly having just jumped in.
It was mere moments later that the Shivan ship pulled away, and turned, aiming back to the homeworld... and vanished.
This close to a planet, triggering a warp-drive would be catastrophic, and there was no way that ship could have a hyperdrive; while there would be specific lanes that gravity and objects would clear of any particulates, most of the area would be saturated in a fine, tiny wisp of atmosphere; and yet.... the shivan vessel had clearly just gone FTL.
Moments later, Plakar watched in horror as a blossom of light formed on the planet's surface; undoubtedly whatever was left of that ship raining down like hellfire on a populated world. For whatever reason, their allied fleet had just done catastrophic damage to a Confederate world.
She stared for a few seconds. Technically, this was an act any confederation fleet was supposed to respond to. The Ascension should now be on the same category as the Republic; avowed enemies of any confederate fleet.
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to freely float as she thought.. The crew on the bridge had all turned, were watching for her commands, listening; bubbles floated around her, calming as she considered what her Duchess would order. She opened them again. "...Take us out. We'll follow her for now, find out whats going on, and why, before we make any decisions. But.... be ready. We.... might have to try to take out the Ascension."
This.... might be the end of her. Of the whole fleet. But what else could she do?