(Command Center, Auxiliary Naval Command, Haven, Shadowgate System)
Most High Ayas Quidithas shuddered as she considered the responsibilities that just fell on her shoulders. Both the military and civilian leaderships of the system had been thoroughly decapitated in the first moments of the attack. The Solar Temple was gone. Their reserve fleets had been wiped out in storage, and the shipyards to produce more ships had been destroyed. For the first time since the activation of the Solar Temple, Haven was vulnerable, and she was the highest ranking officer remaining.
She was wasn’t an administrator or war leader, either! She was a researcher! The only reason she was still alive after Resolute Station’s destruction was because she had been on the planet, going through the archives as part of a research project. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of responsibility!
But there was no one else. She was the senior officer in the Navy by at least two hundred and fifty years, due to being one of the longer-lived types of chimera. The next most senior person was a third her age!
“Most High, the Gatewatch is reporting activation! The address is not in the Great Archives!”
Quidthas’s eyes widened. Activation? That meant someone was coming through! And their Navy was out of position, trying to hunt the ships that had spread devastation across the system.
“What ships do we have in the area?”
“Only the Child of Purity.”
Quidthas closed her eyes. “Tell them to hold as long as they can. Give them fire control over the defenses at the Gate.” She knew she had just condemned that crew to death, but she had no other options.
“What is the status of the invaders?”
“We can’t catch them. Their acceleration in normal space is greater than ours, and their ability to use warp technology allows them to escape whenever we manage to get close. Eighty-four percent of our navy has been disabled or destroyed already.”
The Most High shook her head. There was no coming back from this. They couldn’t beat these invaders, despite having them outnumbered. The only consolation was that they were avoiding platforms and stations that were not associated with the Navy or government, limiting civilian casualties. There was hope that they wouldn’t all be genocided, like in the stories of the Struggle.
“Have the invaders communicated in any way?”
“Not as of yet. They are cont— Most High, a new ship emerging from the Gateway!”
“Just one? What size?”
“Smaller. Light freighter size. We’re getting information from the Ancestral archives at the Ministry of Exterior Intelligence. We have identification on the ship classes for all invaders, now!”
“Well?”
“The invader ships are identified as Black Star Navy. One Reaper-class cruiser, one Knight-Class Destroyer, one Troubadour-Class Escort Carrier with fighter escorts, and three Assassin-Class corvettes. The ship at the Gateway is classified as a Raven-Class Light Freighter, made by a Black Star Company.”
Quidthas grunted. “Then it is likely that this assault is perpetrated by these Black Stars, or someone who buys exclusively from them. What information does the EI have on this company?”
“They were noted as a rising power in past ages. According to the Archival records, a team of the Exiled were to go through the Gateway, and try to make contact, hoping to suborn them. The Council of Nine believed that they had a complete map of all Gateway addresses, which would have allowed us to move our civilization away from Known Space, so we could live outside the time field. The Exiled believed it to be of minimal risk.”
“Gods damn the Exiled. What the hell did they do to them?”
“Most High, the freighter has fired on the Child of Purity and the Gateway defenses! Two platforms disabled, two destroyed. The Child is trying to maneuver, but the freighter is faster, and more agile. They—” The aid cut off, stunned. “They’re gone, Most High. The freighter took out our warship.”
“I see.” It was galling, to think that a mere freighter was capable of such destruction. She would have to go over the sensor readings personally later, to see what advances could be made. If they survived, that is.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“The other ships have joined the freighter by the Gateway via warp jump. All ships out of position to intercept. We have a communication from the freighter, Most High. They’re broadcasting it in the clear, to the entire system.”
“Let me hear it.”
“This is Mirikon Mollen, Owner of the Black Star Company and Admiral of the Black Star Navy, speaking to all residents of the Shadowgate system. Your government authorized attacks upon my person and my company, in an attempt to use mind control powers against me and mine. Those attacks failed, and your operatives have been thoroughly interrogated, to the point where they have no secrets anymore.
“In retaliation for your unwarranted, unannounced assault, under my orders a fraction of one group of the Black Star Navy, barely enough to be considered a task force, has destroyed your Navy’s ability to resist, and decapitated your leadership. Six ships, a fraction of the power at my command, did this. In addition, we have destroyed the time dilation device responsible for keeping you isolated from the rest of the world.
“As of now, all the Major Powers, and all major syndicates and pirate fleets in Known Space, have been alerted to the fact that Shadowgate is vulnerable, their defenses down, and their ability to resist broken. You are exposed to the rest of the universe, and, seeing as how a mere freighter is able to destroy one of your warships with ease, even your remaining ships will be no threat to those who are coming.
“Shadowgate’s days of isolation are done. You will rejoin the rest of the galactic community. You can do this willingly, through diplomacy, or you can resist, and be dragged into the rest of the community. The choice is yours.
“Admiral Mollen, signing off.”
Quidthas gaped, her jaw doing a credible job of attempting to reach the floor as she listened to the transmission. “My gods, everyone heard that! That message is going to cause mass panic across the system!”
“Most High, the ships are leaving through the Gateway.”
“What?” Quidthas shook her head. She couldn’t have heard that right. “They are just leaving?”
“Yes, Most High. The last ship just passed through the Gateway. And the Gate has closed.”
“That… that bastard! He just broke everything, completely upended our entire way of life, and then left? Without even staying to help pick up the pieces?”
“I am afraid so, Most High.” The aide paused, listening to their communicator for a moment. “I am afraid it just got worse, the Gateway just opened from another address, this one registered in the Archive as Kul’tiras. Multiple ships exiting the Gateway, seven in number, all appearing to be warships. They are communicating.”
“This is Lord Admiral Priscilla Ashvane of the Kul’Tiran Navy aboard the Proudmore’s Folly. We have heard that your defenses have been ravaged, and have come to help protect you from external threats, for a modest fee. We request communications with what remains of your civilian and military leadership to begin negotiations.”
“Most High, we have multiple warp signatures, coming from the direction of Consortium space!”
“This is Hella Shattershield, of Shattershield Free Trading and Protective Services, based out of Coldana. We are happy to hear that Shadowgate is once again open for business, and are here to open trading opportunities for mutual profit.”
“This is General Hardminer, Military Governor of Coldana. This system has been deemed to be in rebellion against the Gauz Consortium, and is to be brought into compliance with Consortium regulations immediately, or we will use force to ensure compliance. As you also have an effective two hundred and fifty thousand years of back taxes owed to the Consortium, all property in the system is being seized as back taxes, and all residents are ordered to report for debt processing, so that you can be properly disbursed to pay off your debts.”
Most High Quidthas staggered, collapsing against the table. Somehow, everything just got worse. The monster hadn’t just shattered their government and their navy. He had thrown the door wide open for everyone else to take their piece of the pie. Her system, her people, her way of life, all of it was going to be cut up, parceled out, and sold off to the highest bidder!
In a daze, she looked at her aide. With numb, fumbling fingers, she took his service weapon from him. He didn’t resist her. He looked as shocked as she did.
She took a breath, centered herself. If this was to be the end, then she would at least give her last order as part of the Haven Navy like an officer should. At least then she could die with whatever dignity was left to her.
“E-emergency message to the fleet, and to all civilian ships. Emergency evacuation. Every ship capable of Darkspace is to flee, at once. Tell them to run, as far and as fast as they can! Some part of our people have to survive this!”
The aide nodded, and went to make the transmission, leaving Most High Quidthas, last independent leader of Haven, to resign her office to the sound of a pulse laser discharging.
(Lounge, BSS Starlight Raven, Star’s Reach System)
Jaynie curled up against me as I relaxed in the Raven’s lounge. “Why did you go and let that Shadowgate place off the hook, boss? You had them by the throat. Could have owned a second system, easy.”
I chuckled at the thought. “Oh, sure I could have. But why in the hell would I want something like that? I already have enough problems being the guy in charge of not just a star system, but an interstellar company and naval force. Do you really think I want to add another system to that mix? Hell no!”
Cali snuggled closer on my other side. “But even so, Master, you’re just going to walk away? All you did is slap them around a little. You could have at least gotten some reparations or something from them. You barely even started punishing them! I thought you were going to go off on them like you did with Yathru.”
I just shook my head. “I could have, sure. And it was tempting. Being the big bad that stomps people down whenever they upset me has a certain charm to it, I won’t lie. But, if you stop and think about it, what I did to them was worse.”
Jaynie frowned. “What do you mean, boss?”
“Simple. We all know that Shadowgate has been locked away for fifty years, according to the outside. Inside, however, it has been a quarter million years. Now, we know that their military abilities stagnated due to having so long without fighting anyone, but what about their other sciences, or their art? That’s enough time for entire civilizations to rise and fall again and again. All contained within that little bubble of space and time.
“Now, Shinokage and her force destroyed the device that was keeping them in that bubble, while decapitating their leadership as thoroughly as possible. Then, they went and wiped out most of Shadowgate’s Navy and defensive abilities, leaving the system basically up for grabs to whoever thinks they could make a claim. My addition at the end just went a bit further, to tell everyone that even our freighters are able to take out their warships. They are not only vulnerable, but every last one of their citizens knows it.
“Then, I went and told everyone I could about what happened, spreading the information to all governments, all news outlets, and any criminal contacts we have. Everyone knows that there is a very rich, very undefended system out here, just begging for someone to make it theirs. And everyone is going to want a bite out of that pie.”
Leaning back in my seat, I smiled. “In other words, I did worse than make them my bitch. I stripped them down, tied them up, lathered them in marinade, and tossed them to the fucking wolves. The Consortium, especially, is going to be eager to get their hands back on what they still consider to be ‘their’ system. They still haven’t forgiven the Shadowgate crowd for taking it from them in the first place.”
“Geez, Master, that’s fucking evil! I love it!”