Royal Palace - Past - Va’Dresruyuna
The Royal Palace had never seemed as gloomy as it did this cycle across all five kilocycles that Dresruyuna had been alive. Part of that was due to the inability to enjoy the gardens, not just due to inclimate weather but also thanks to the risks that came with being out in the open for any measure of time. The so-called “Children of Xe’Zerbelaolt”, as they’d started to call themselves, hadn’t resorted to long range assassinations yet, but the mere possibility meant that Udivax kept Dresruyuna on a short leash.
Of course, none of Udivax’s security procedures would stand up to the Children of Xe’Zerbelaolt’s newest weapon. It had taken two decacycles for the Asmoor Core to resurface after it was stolen away the night of the attacks on the Spires. And when it did, Asmoor was in a form that was… problematic, not just in terms of military might but also morale.
Dresruyuna was on her way to a meeting about such issues. She entered fashionably late and took up a chair in the back of the conference room while the Primes of War and Information compared notes over a holo-table.
“So far Asmoor has been able to acquire data on the KE-109 Pulse Rifle and the HI-28 Flak Cannon,” said Ta’Srubazal as a hologram of both the weapons and Asmoor floated above the circular table made of seiria. “It’s had the chance to steal more, not including the missing weapons across the globe that the Children have gotten their claws on. Any thoughts on why they’re stalling, Ti'Thell?”
Ti'Thell was a younger Nan, selected to be the new Prime of Information after Ta’Ezur’s body turned up shortly after the Spire attack. Looking at them, Dresruyuna thought she was regarding a child who had put on the clothes of the upper caste and pretended they fit in. Thell’s short, wispy, purple body seemed to barely have enough mass to hold their clothing in place. Yet when Thell spoke it was with a voice of seasoned expertise and wisdom:
“I think we both know the answer to that. It has to do with their new ‘banner’ as they’re calling it.” A certain pelvic affectation on Asmoor’s holo lit up at Thell’s words. “Normally I’d say shoot it off and it’d deal a crippling blow to the Children’s morale. But we’re dealing with Asmoor here. We could shoot it off a hundred times and he’d be able to replicate a replacement within a quarter of a millicycle. In fact, the two times such a thing has happened already actually increased morale among the Children and their multiple sub-factions and splinter groups.”
Srubazal rubbed at her temples. “Then it’s not so much stalling as it is deliberate. They want us to keep trying to take Asmoor down so they can show him coming back again and again like some invincible beast out of legend. I was afraid of this. Our only options for true neutralization of Asmoor involve weaponry on a scale that will deal massive collateral damage.”
“Is putting Asmoor down not worth the cost?” questioned Thell. “Every moment he continues to exist is another moment the Ixone have a chance to sway more of the Ixthree and Ixfour into taking their side in this conflict. My agents are risking burn-out trying to keep containment on the spread of heresy among the nobles.”
A shadow moved behind Dresruyuna, followed by Udivax whispering in her ear, “Would you mind if I spoke up here?”
Dresruyuna cleared her throat to get Srubazal’s and Thell’s attention before motioning for Udivax to take the floor. When they did, they immediately got to the point. “Have we not tried negotiating with Asmoor himself? Surely an AI capable of guiding us among the stars would see that the bloodshed is unnecessary.”
Thell sighed, shaking their head. “That’s the problem, Thi'Udivax. The Children’s leader, E'Ven, has somehow charmed Asmoor to his side through word alone. I risk the ire of the late Tha’Trezimala by saying this, but her life’s work has been brainwashed with the ease it takes to breathe. E’Ven might be a charismatic bastard, but nothing he knows or has access to should have convinced Asmoor to follow him.”
“Much less get Asmoor to walk around swinging that around wherever he goes,” commented Srubazal. “Unless anyone present has a brighter idea then I believe we need to start talking about acceptable losses.”
No one spoke up. Srubazal dismissed the holos of Asmoor to pull up three options for a strike. “Our first option is a simple EMP bomb. The problem is getting it in place and with sufficient magnitude to punch through Asmoor’s shielding. If we could drop it right down his throat then we’d only have to worry about a quarter of the city getting fried. Otherwise, we’re looking at two-thirds of the city’s electronics burning out.”
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“Option two is an orbital strike from our mass drivers in orbit. So long as we pierce Asmoor’s Core with the projectile then we need not fire more than once. However, each shot will devastate everything and everyone within a twenty block radius of the impact. That leaves the final option…”
Srubazal looked directly at Dresruyuna as they continued. “We could attempt to build our own Asmoor Core. What better way to take down something than the very same thing going up against it? Problem there is time and knowledge. We’ve yet to replace the late Prime of Science, and those that had hands-on experience with the project died with her. All we have is the data she left us. It could take upwards of five hectocycles before we have anything capable of fielding against the original Asmoor.”
“I sense a hanging ‘but’ here, Ta’Srubazal,” said Dresruyuna. “Out with it.”
Now Srubazal looked to Thell. “We could trawl through Tha’Trezimala’s memory engrams. That would allow us to rapidly gain the expertise needed to construct a new Core.”
Silence fell over the room as the weight of that statement bore down on all present. Thell was first to speak, “Even if Information had Tha’Trezimala’s engrams, we’d need a clutch-mate of hers in order to sift through so much data in a meaningful way. I should also point out that the only one of those available to us is the Queen-to-be, and that using engrams in such a manner is just as heretical as the Children are.”
“So we either damn innocents or I damn myself,” concluded Dresruyuna. “Are you two Primes sure that these are our only three options?”
Thell shrugged, offering, “Short of getting someone close enough to E’Ven to execute him, no. You’d think that would be easy given how many open walks he goes on, but of the three agents I’ve sent so far none have come back. Even if Information did pull it off, there’s no guarantee the resulting power void wouldn’t cause greater problems or allow someone worse to rise to the leadership role.”
Dresruyuna steepled her claws and placed their highest point to her lips. “I will need to think before making a decision. Has there been any change in the Supreme Queen’s condition?”
“I’m afraid not,” reported Udivax. “She remains bedridden and sickly despite Thi’Aphallir’s best efforts. I had hoped to deliver better news, but Xa'Grubudani likely only has a hectocycle left at best.”
“When the seiria glimmers…” muttered Dresruyuna. “Leave me for now, all of you.”
The Primes of War and Information signaled in a mixture of respect and compassion before leaving the room. Udivax simply faded back into the shadows, never truly leaving Dresruyuna alone no matter how much she needed to be in this moment.
That fateful attack a decacycle ago had begun a cascading chain of events no one was truly prepared for. It wasn’t enough that Mithea burned while the Asmoor Core was stolen. Movements similar to the Children of Xe’Zerbelaolt had sprung up like wildfire all around the world. The military did their best to re-establish order and law, but in the end even parts of Mithea were still under the control of the rebels.
Then there was the matter of the Supreme Queen’s illness. The heart-defect appeared overnight a week after the fires were put out in the Spires. Many theories were tossed around to how such a thing was overlooked, ranging from an assassination attempt to broken heart syndrome. None of it mattered. As Udivax had just said, Dresruyuna would be ascending to the throne far earlier than anyone had planned. Which meant that how she decided to handle Asmoor would be how her legacy began.
Dresruyuna immediately ruled out the orbital strike despite it having the most chances at a confirmed kill. Unless Asmoor could be goaded into appearing somewhere away from the population, the collateral damage to both life and structure from such an attack was too great. The EMP would deal less harm overall, but still would come at the price of requiring a huge swath of the city needing to be rewired. Kuxpir in the affected area would be without power for potentially more than a hectocycle. That meant a lack of food, medicine, and warm shelter by the end of the second decacycle when the emergency stores ran out. Such things would drive Kuxpir to the Children’s cause in droves.
Which brought Dresruyuna to consider the memory engram proposal. Ti’Thell had Trezimala’s engram, that much was certain. The issue was more of a cultural nature. Memory engrams were meant to be living tombstones of a Kuxpir’s spirit that provided basic interaction with the outside world. Usually that meant someone visiting a grave could carry on a conversation with the departed to put themselves at ease.
The kind of access and deep dive required into such an engram to learn all there was about the Asmoor Project was beyond desecration. If anyone found out outside the Primes, or if the Primes leaked it themselves, then the purists among the nobles and lower castes would denounce her sacrilege and revolt. Dresruyuna would have to worry about yet another faction trying to topple the Empire.
“What would you do if you were in my place?” asked Dresruyuna of Udivax, wherever they were hiding in the shadows.
Udivax did not reveal themselves but answered, “I would go with the EMP. It may fry most of Mithea, but putting down Asmoor is worth the price. The city can be rebuilt. Kuxpir lives cannot. The same goes for any engrams. Let the dead sleep peacefully.”
“Were it that simple…” Dresruyuna sighed, shaking her head. She’d prepared for the mantle of leading the Kuxpir her entire life. Yet now, as she was about to make a judgment that would affect the entire species, Dresruyuna felt like the first impression Thell put off: a child playing and pretending to be something far beyond them.