Adrian glanced at Gotu, who was walking to his left, and studied him. There was no sign of unease or anger from him toward the Sowir, but then, Nel were very good at keeping their true emotions to themselves. He reached with his mind and tried to get a feel for his friend’s mood. After a few moments, Adrian caught a glimpse of what his teacher had seen so effortlessly.
Gotu turned and caught Adrian studying him, and he made a Nel hand gesture that meant curiosity at Adrian. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Adrian said, responding with another gesture that told Gotu that he did not wish to speak of it at the moment, just as they reached the command hub. “Can you handle the Erasi diplomats?”
“Shouldn’t you do it?” Gotu asked.
“Not really. It was always the plan for you to administer and run the Sol system from here. Dealing with diplomats is your job,” Adrian responded.
“Alright, then. I assume that you want me to put their embassy in the south wing?” Gotu asked.
“Yes. And see if you can get them to give us any more information on the Shara Daim.”
“Sure,” Gotu said, and entered the room.
Adrian led Lurker of the Depths away and towards the area of Olympus Mons delegated to the Sowir, who had arrived a few days ago. They entered the large hangar-like room, with dozens of Sowir moving equipment from the end of the room where a large pile of crates was to the large pool at the other end of the room. Adrian knew that most of the equipment would be installed inside small rooms underwater, some submerged, others filled with pockets of air. The Sowir living quarters were also down there, as they preferred water despite the fact that they could survive on land.
“How long before you and your people are ready to start the constructions?” Adrian asked.
“A couple of days, no more. All of our construction vessels are in orbit and ready; we only need to settle in down here,” Lurker of the Depths responded. “Granted that the fabricators you promised arrive on time.”
“They will. Isani informed me that they are on their way from Warpath,” Adrian sent.
“Good. This will be a good thing for my people. Until now, we were kept isolated inside our home system. Interacting with others, including those we have wronged, will start the process of healing. I am thankful to you for that, Adrian,” Lurker of the Depths sent, showing Adrian his gratitude.
“It was time. Isolation would have only allowed the wounds to fester,” Adrian sent.
Ever since their defeat, the Sowir had been kept isolated in their home system. At first they had been left alone, bound to their worlds, but as time had passed, the Emperor had allowed them more freedoms. Eventually they had started building civilian vessels for the Empire; then they’d moved to mining equipment and eventually to building stations. And now Adrian had brought them to Sol to help him develop and construct a new defense grid and stations for the system based on technologies from the sphere, augmented and adapted for Sol’s needs.
It had taken some convincing to get them here. The Guxcacul and the Nel were not happy, but thankfully their inclusion to the Empire meant that they had to leave their personal feelings aside. After a bit of convincing from Tomas, they’d agreed to allow the Sowir outside of their ‘prison’ system.
The Empire’s unity, its bonds, came from a simple thing—knowledge. Tomas knew that knowledge was the great equalizer; it gave everyone the same starting point. Lack of dissidents in the Empire came from the fact that everyone had equal rights and opportunities. All could get the education they wanted; all could live freely and with the same quality even if they decided not to give back to society. But that happened rarely; from the moment a child in the Empire was capable of learning, it was taught that life was about advancement, about always improving oneself, never allowing yourself to stagnate, always moving forward in every direction.
“I have seen the data on your assembling pools. Any chance that we could use them?” Lurker of the Depths asked.
“We are still experimenting with the technology; it isn’t yet up to par with the fabricators. There are defects in finished products that we haven’t been able to correct. Hopefully in a couple of years the technology will be ready,” Adrian responded.
“A pity. What you are asking of us would have gone much faster if we could use that.”
Adrian was about to respond when he heard Iris’s voice in his head.
“A message from Aileen has arrived for you, Adrian,” she said.
Adrian brought it up on his HUD, and after a few moments of skimming through it, he turned to Lurker of the Depths.
“I will have to leave you to get your people settled. There is an urgent matter I have to take care of,” Adrian sent, and turned, walking away and leaving the Sowir behind.
A couple of hours later, Adrian stood in the Olympus Mons base’s hangar bay watching a shuttle from the Second Fleet’s flagship—the command ship Decisive—slowly lowering itself to the floor. After it landed and its doors lowered, he watched as a blonde woman wearing the Fleet uniform with the rank of Fleet Commander slowly made her way towards him.
“Johanna,” Adrian said as he shook the woman’s hand.
“Adrian, I hope that this is important. I have much work to do before we leave tomorrow,” Fleet Commander Johanna Stern of the Second Fleet said as she turned and gave the two wolions a pat on the head each.
“It is. Come, let us move to someplace more private,” Adrian said, and led her to a small meeting room attached to the hangar.
“What is this about, Adrian?” Johanna asked once they were inside the room and seated.
“I have received a report from Sentinel Aileen,” Adrian said. He had sent Aileen on a mission to Tarabat, to establish a presence and develop relationships with other races present there, but also to lay a foundation for an information network. That was what a Sentinel’s job was supposed to be, to evaluate and learn about races outside of the Empire’s borders. “She sent me the coordinates for the place where the fleets should wait for her,” Adrian continued. “The Erasi might be willing to sell information to us about the Shara Daim, but something tells me that they will be doing the same for our enemies.”
Johanna nodded. “So, is there anything we should know before we leave?”
“The Erasi were less than forthcoming concerning Shara Daim military movements; they insist that they don’t know anything. But Aileen managed to… obtain a few pieces of information from other sources,” Adrian said.
“And?”
“The Shara Daim Legions are mobilizing, just as we suspected. But the word she sent back is that it isn’t just a few Legions; the rumors that reached Aileen’s ears are that they are mobilizing all of their Legions,” Adrian said.
“All of them?” Johanna asked incredulously. “For us?”
“Yes. It looks like they really want our sphere,” Adrian said with a grim smile.
“How many are there?” Johanna asked.
“Our intel suggests anywhere from two dozen to fifty. Each comparable in size to our fleets.”
“We can’t fight those numbers, Adrian. We have six fleets, with another three on the way by the end of the year, not counting the system defenses, but those are all old ships and drones. We might be able to raise the fleet numbers to sixteen in four, maybe three years. But it will still not be enough if they hit us fast and hard.”