“Hey, Jimmy. Who do you think will die first? My bet is on the new one.” -Rough Voice.

“Dunno. Don care. Just wanna make some Cyber scrap-metal.” -Jimmy

*The clicking of someone checking his weapon.*

“Guys? Is it really such a good idea to charge straight into the enemy ship right after the shuttle broke through the hull? Shouldn’t we throw some grenades, or use a shield?” -Squeaky Voice

“Shut, new one. Just charge and don’t block the rest of us when door opens, or I’ll put a bullet into the back of your head!” -Jimmy

“I don’t like this. Why do I have to go first?” -Squeaky Voice

“Because we are the veterans and you are the noob. Noobs always have to go first, so that we know what to expect.” -Rough Voice

“Yeah, you are our shield. No need to waste fancy equipment when there is meat to throw at the enemy. Oh, look! The hatch is opening! Now listen, noob, they are usually waiting right on the other side, so don’t look outside right aw-” -Jimmy

*Sounds of electromagnetic rifles and the scuttling of metal on metal.*

*Screams.*

*More shooting.*

“Aw, Fuck! It ripped his head off. I told him to be careful. I got all the blood into my eyes.” -Jimmy

“I won the bet.” -Rough Voice

“Don’t care! Let’s make those mother fuckers bleed!” -Jimmy

*Sounds of shooting.*

“Can they even bleed? They are pure machines, aren’t they?” -Rough Voice

“Ahem. Sure? They have oil in them, see? Just hack away the outer layer.” -Jimmy

“Uuuh, you are right. Let’s find their oil tanks and swim in them! I always wanted to swim in the blood of my enemies!” -Rough Voice

“I am actually not sure if we can actually swim in oil, though...” -Jimmy

-A recording of a Demon boarding action.

***Outer Rim***

***Minerva***

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“We are glad that you decided in favour of a mutual assistance treaty. It must have been no easy decision, given the reason for your presence in this starcluster,” I compliment Batlin, then decide to throw him some crumbs of information.

“Our nanotechnology must seem very suspicious, but let me assure you that we developed it entirely on our own. We also have no use for these artificial intelligences of yours. Why would anyone ever build such a thing? To have a machine think for you... it's the epitome of laziness.”

I finish my rant, hoping that I didn't put it on too thick.

The throne room is silent and our guards are training their emotionless gazes on the walls. General Batlin studies Samuel and me on our throne, his sensory organs seemingly wandering over our bodies as he tries to weigh our words.

Finally, he decides on how to answer. “I'll instruct my forces to cooperate with yours, within reason. One of my staff will stay in contact with your general. The Cyber are a threat that has to be removed as quickly as possible. My analysts provided me with statistics which make it alarmingly important to act quickly and decisively. If it isn't already too late. As with any virus, there is a point of no return if we make the mistake of waiting for too long.”

In other words, you don't really want to play along, but the situation is forcing your hand.

I point my tail at Martin who is standing next to us. “Be a treasure and haggle out the details with Batlin's men.” Absent-mindedly, I run a hand across Samuel's chest while I play the bored mistress. Why is it that our psychologists had me play the possessive female? Does an alien, like Batlin, even care about our social structure or the way we behave?

Mirthful, I study the throne room and Batlin with his representatives. It would've been much easier to hold this meeting in a real office, but since we are trying to play the part of a glorified hegemony, someone decided that being up and above such things would make our story much more believable.

Samuel leans forward. “I hope that we will stay in contact and provide each other with intelligence. The Cyber are far too numerous to be contained at this point. I wonder how you intend to solve the problem.”

Batlin considers his answer for a little longer than I am comfortable with. “We have certain... weapons. But as you said, if too many Cyber escape our grasp, we may have to start yet another campaign. We are relatively sure that we can suppress the Cyber threat, but your assistance would make it infinitely easier to ensure their complete destruction.”

Complete destruction. That sounds ominous. We devised this plan to find a weakness in the G.S. forces and to make them reveal their hand. The Cyber must have several hundred capital ships at this point. Together with the smaller vessels, they number in the thousands.

How does the G.S. intend to contain the Cyber? As soon as the Cyber realize that there is a possibility of losing the conflict, they will spread out and run in all directions. Basically the same as what we are doing right now.

What will Batlin do when he realizes that he is dealing with just one of many Cyber colonies? Because, ultimately, the G.S. aren't our concern, the Cyber are. They had a few more decades to execute their plans and to ensure their survival. They must be spread out over half the galaxy by now.

I realize that I didn't pay attention to the conversation and that Samuel took over. He and Martin are finalizing a few minor details with Batlin.

As it turns out, Batlin doesn't want much from us. We just have to hold our border with the Cyber and ensure that no enemy slips past. Batlin's fleet will do the exterminating.

I have the distinct feeling that Batlin will try to push the Cyber against our borders, but that can't be helped in either case. Whatever secret weapon he is going to use, if it's impressive enough, the Cyber are bound to come knocking on our door.

Well, it's better than to be caught off-guard by whatever the G.S. has up their sleeves. If push comes to shove, we can always drop the act and let the Cyber through while we make a run for it.

If that happens, things are sure to end in chaos. But whoever said that a war will go according to plan?

The involved parties finalize their parts and Batlin retreats after wishing us well. A small contingency of his diplomatic team will stay at our colony, but he and his closest advisers will return to their base of operations in order to coordinate the attack on Cyber controlled space.

According to our intelligence, it will come at exactly the right moment. The Cyber are positioning their forces to strike at us. The G.S. attack will feel like they are being kicked in the back. It's possible that the Cyber will even pull back some of their forces if it turns out that the G.S. are a serious threat.

It takes a while for everyone to clear the room. Then, Samuel and I are alone and I let out my breath. Untangling my legs from his, I get into a more comfortable position, now that I don't have to play the clingy wife. “That went down better than expected. I guess we got everything we wanted.”

“Yeah,” Samuel grumbles. “I guess. Having them fight the battle while we get to watch would've been asked a little bit too much.”

“You sound grumpy. Was there anything important which I missed?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I am just suspicious. That's all. Everything went a little too smoothly. And the way Batlin arranged our cooperation means that he will try to hide his ace for as long as possible.”

I want to cheer him up, but he is right. Telling him any different would be lying. “Yeah, well. Nobody ever said it’s going to be easy.”