“Can I see that information?” Anessa asked.
Narrasak keyed the telepathic interface and a hologram of the system appeared above the table. “Our agents recovered data sent by the Erasi ambassador; we have their scans of the system, and while they are incomplete, it is a great opportunity. Their trans-space entry point is not guarded; we can enter inside the system and take it before they have a chance to do anything,” Narrasak said.
Anessa recognized the system immediately; it was the place where she had been held. She pointed at the third planet from the sun. “That is the Human homeworld,” she said, looking at the devastated planet.
Narrasak’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”
“That is the system I was held in. My captor showed me that world and told me that it was their homeworld. It was conquered by the Ra’a’zani decades ago. The Humans retook it only recently, but not before the Ra’a’zani deployed a weapon that did that to the planet. And the device the Elders want is still there,” Anessa said.
Narrasak looked at Garaam, with hunger in his eyes. “This is the world the Elders ordered captured. Doing so now would bring us much prestige with the other Dai Sha.”
Garaam narrowed her eyes. “That is true, but we don’t have any verification on this information. You want us to enter through the trans-point; if they have defenses there, they can hurt us badly. There is a reason why invasion forces rarely attack through trans-points.”
“They are weaklings, you heard Anessa—they just recently recovered that system; they haven’t had the time to make it defensible,” Narrasak pressed.
“I do not doubt our strength, but to enter a system through a defended trans-point is folly,” Garaam insisted.
Anessa sighed. “Narrasak’s information is correct, that point isn’t defended,” she said reluctantly. “I was in their system-watch center when the Erasi diplomats arrived, and there were no defenses there. And I accompanied their force into the Ra’a’zani territory; their forces are not there. But with their FTL tech, they might be able to return before we arrive. Their leader seemed to think so. I don’t know if he was lying or not.” She knew that she was aiding in Narrasak’s plan, but there was no reason for her to keep that information to herself.
Narrasak turned and grinned at Garaam. “See, we should attack before that changes. We can secure the system and use it as a staging point for the invasion of the rest of their territory.”
“Do you think that we should attack?” Garaam asked, turning to Anessa.
Anessa thought about it for a minute. “It is a great opportunity, Narrasak is right about that. But I have spent time with these people, and they are not as weak as the Elders think,” she said slowly, thinking about Adrian. Their fight had given her a lot of insight into who he was, but in the end, it was she who had won that fight by restraining him. “But we are Shara Daim; none can stand against us. Narrasak has command, so it is his call in the end. I would only advise caution.”
Narasak was given command by the Elders, Anessa might be the first of the Dai Sha, but her seniority only allowed her to assume command in emergencies, otherwise all Dai Sha were supposed to be equal. But the personal honor and respect from the other Dai Sha came into play, Anessa was very respected, powerful, and usually she would take command. But now her standing was harmed by the fact that she was captured. Not enough for her to lose her position, but enough to make her trying to take command from Narrasak complicated. And it was pointless anyway, Narrasak was about to do something that she agreed with.
“We are attacking,” Narrasak said in triumph. Then he turned to Anessa. “Will you go to the Elders to report? Or will you come with us?” he asked.
She was tempted to go to the Elders, to ask them for more answers, but that somehow made her feel as if Adrian had won. It was what he wanted her to do, and she would not let his words poison her actions. And it would take several months of travel to reach Shara Radum in order for her to speak with them in person. She trusted the Elders still, and their original orders to her had been to recover the device. And she knew that the human device was still on their ravaged homeworld. There was no choice.
“I’m coming with you.”
Chapter Twelve
One month later— July — Sanctuary
Emperor Tomas Klein sat at the head of a long table and listened as the Clan Leaders of his Empire discussed new resource allocations and mining rights.
“Clan Gudólfr was supposed to provide us with one third of our requirements for military shipyards, and now those materials are being funneled to Warpath. Not to mention that Warpath and Dai Ven have reduced the resources trade with other Clans by sixty percent. The shortage of resources will delay our projects by at least a year,” said Clan Leader Barbara Brown of the Terran Clan.
“Warpath, Dai Ven, and Sanctuary are on war footing; they need those resources to build up our forces. Forces that defend all of us,” Clan Leader Isani of Warpath added.
“I can understand that, but Dai Ven trade with Guxcacul and Nelus Clans has continued with no reductions, and they are not required to aid the three Clans with a percentage of their own production. We only ask that if we must suffer these reductions, then the rest should too,” Clan Leader Brown said.
Clan Leader Annbjörg Johansson of Clan Gudólfr shook her head. “Guxcacul and Nelus are the newest clans, their needs are lower than yours; they are barely getting ten percent of your yearly quota. There is no point in reducing resources going to them, it wouldn’t make a difference. They still need time to grow to the level of other Clans.”
“Annbjörg is right, cutting resources going to them wouldn’t increase our production, but would cripple their expansion. And their production is nowhere near the size of other Clans; their contributions would be minuscule,” Clan Leader Sumia of Nuvan Clan added.
Clan Leader Brown sighed in defeat. “Fine, but I expect an increase in Terran Clans quota after the war footing ends.”
Clan Leader Jusan of Clan Dai Ven turned to look at Brown. “We can do that. I will add ten percent of your yearly quota from our reserves for two years after the war footing ends. I assume that that will be enough?”
Brown nodded. “It will.”
“While we are on the subject, is there anything that Guxcacal and Nelus Clans wish to add?” Tomas asked, startling the Clan Leaders. He usually kept back and let them discus things on their own, but today he had an agenda that he needed to bring up.
Clan Leader Nimuse of Nelus Clan turned to Tomas. She now looked like a young Nel woman; it was a great change compared to how she had looked before Nelus had joined the Empire. She had been an old woman, but now after the rejuvenation and immortality treatments, she would look young for a long time.
“Nelus has nothing to add, sir. The expansion of our production and processing plants is proceeding as planned.”
Then Clan Leader Sisstra of the Guxcacul Clan spoke, “The same as Nelus; everything is proceeding according to plans, sir.” Tomas knew that she had spoken in her own tongue, but he heard her words in Empire standard, thanks to the technology sent by Adrian from the Erasi. His scientists had adapted it and integrated it into their implants, and as all races in the Empire had one, it made it much easier for them all to communicate. They no longer had the need to use translators that had lag.
“Well, now that we have finished with that, I have two matters to bring to your attention,” he said as he looked around the table at the nine Clan Leaders. Five of them were Nel, three human if he counted himself and Sanctuary, and the last two were a Guxcacul and a Trivaxian. He could not have imagined all that time ago that he would end up here.