Chapter 3

Koira, 13 Shiaa, 4400 Orthodox Calendar
Sunday,10 November 2013, Terran Standard Calendar
Koira, 13 Shiaa, year 1326 of the 97th Generation, Karinne Historical Reference Calendar
The Academy of Terra, Norfolk, Virginia, The United States, Terra

A Generation.

Jason spent quite a bit of time trying to wrap his brain around that. He thought he was the only Generation left on Terra, but now he knew that was false. It always did seem a little outlandish to him that his family had survived for hundreds of years as only a single unbranching line. He had to have some distant aunts or uncles that reproduced, and this woman was clearly the proof that he was right.

Kiaari showed him a picture of her, taken at the Academy, with a serpentine Urumi, its scales black, led her from the school's spaceport to a waiting car. She was petite, thin, pale, rather buxom, and had flaming red hair that was tied back in a single ponytail. She was rather plain, with a drawn face and thin lips, but that could have been a function of the aerial angle of the camera. She hinted that she was more handsome than that still image portrayed. She wore a severe gray jumpsuit in the image.

Still, it was quite a shock. She wasn't from his direct family tree, he figured. She had to be distantly related, descended from a branch of the family hundreds of years ago. He certainly had no knowledge of any other branches of his family, and since they'd found no other human Generations, everyone simply assumed that he was the last of his line.

It felt… relieving, to know that he wasn't alone. It had been a shock, but really, it was a pleasant shock to find out that he had some long-lost distant cousin. Who knows, maybe he had even more?

One thing was for sure, this made it absolutely imperative he get his people back from the Urumi and Trillane. There was no telling how many of them had talent, or if he had other Generation cousins among them.

One thing was for sure, though… he really wanted to talk to this girl. He paced back and forth in the cavernous intelligence office in front of Kiaari's desk as the reports came in. She was in Washington. The Urumi lackey had left. The Kimdori had picked her up, forced to sedate her because she attempted to resist, but quickly found that her telepathic powers were basically useless against Kimdori. She injured three with formidable telepathic power, though, but they had still captured her. They had her in a dropship on the way back to the Academy. He was nervous and impatient when word came that she was on the campus, and that was when Kiaari and Zaa took Jason from the office and down a long, dark passageway, to a room where they would be dealing with the girl.

She was there when they arrived. It was a featureless room with gray walls and a comfortable bunk built into the wall, almost like a prison cell, and a single chair by the bed, and looking at her made his spine shiver in that peculiar manner that told him exactly what she was, and proved to him beyond any doubt that she was a Generation. She was laying on the bunk when they entered, passing two Kimdori males who had brought her in, and Jason sat down on the chair as Zaa and Kiaari came in with Yana behind them. She was rather short, thin, and very pale. Her red hair was very vibrant and bright, thick, and her face was in fact prettier than it appeared in that image, but she was certainly no beauty. She was simply cute.

Kiaari began. She leaned over the bunk and put her hand on that girl's neck, and the girl gave a ragged cry, her back arching. Kiaari's face was a mask of absolute concentration as she used her power to dredge the mind of the girl, looking for every single scrap of information that they might find useful. The girl writhed, muttering as if having a bad dream, as Kiaari shared with her, then the Kimdori pulled her hand away.

Zaa looked back to the Kimdori in the hall. "Bring Yana," she commanded.

"At once, Denmother," came the reply, and one of them rushed off.

"What did you learn, child?" Zaa demanded.

"Very little," she said grimly. "The girl's mind was erased of anything but her conditioning. All she had inside was what the Trillanes gave her."

"How bad?" Jason asked.

"I mean there's nothing left inside her of who she used to be. The Trillanes erased her memory," she told him bluntly. "She doesn't even have a name. Her mission was to get within sending range of the Empress and impart to her a message."

"A message? That's it?" Jason asked curiously.

"It was a message about the Karinnes, Jason," she told him grimly. "It told the Empress exactly where you were, and offered a deal to them. Their border systems in exchange for the equal sharing of Karinne technology between the Faey and the Urumi, if the Empress would turn on you during the upcoming action to quell Trillane. It seems that the offer was to have the Empress force you to commit the bulk of your military forces to the fleet, then allow Urumi forces to cross the Imperium to Karis to capture the planet while you were busy with Trillane. In return for that, the Urumi would permit the Empress to overrun Collective border systems and keep them, and Trillane would fold back into the Imperium peacefully after the Imperium took Karis back from the Urumi. That way it would appear as if nothing untoward had happened, yet the Urumi would have enough data to reverse-engineer much of Karinne technology, which they would share with the Imperium through Trillane."

"All of this was a trap against us?" Jason gasped.

"No," Zaa said. "It was a diversion. The Urumi have the same knowledge of your fleet the Faey do, and know they would stand no chance against them." Zaa paced back and forth. "And we both know that the Empress would have rejected such an offer immediately, and clearly would warn you about it. The result is that you would be much more reluctant to commit forces to quelling Trillane, given the threat of an Urumi fleet conducting a raid against Karis. This trick seems little more than a ploy to prevent Karinne from committing forces to the Imperium for the upcoming suppression. But there is more going on here. The Urumi have definite proof of Karis, so there is more to this than what we can easily see. Clearly, it is time to sift through the sand at the feet of the Collective and see what we find."

"I kinda have Miaari working on that right now," Jason told her. "Well, she's doing it on her own, really. She's been working with Cybi to investigate the Collective, even had Cybi invade the Urumi computer network to dig for information and use some of our hyperspace probes to collect surveillance."

"That is quite clever, clearly Miaari continues to prove her worth to wear the white bar," Zaa said calmly.

"There's something else too, something Cybi mentioned," he remembered. "The Urumi are buying weapons and equipment from a third party, but Cybi couldn't find out who it was. We thought there for a while that this was an attempt to get the Faey and the Alliance into a war, but if the Urumi are arming, then maybe they really do mean to take on the Faey themselves."

"Perhaps," Zaa intoned. "But there is more going on here. We will wait for Miaari to report. In the meantime, we will do what we can for her."

"What can we do for her?" Jason asked. "Kiaari said her mind was erased."

"We will see. There might be something we can do, it will depend on Yana."

When Yana did arrive, Zaa ordered her to assess the girl herself. She sat down in the chair and put her hands on the girl's face, and was quiet for long moments while Jason felt on the edges of his consciousness her probing of the girl. She then took her hands off and frowned. "There's something weird here," she said. "They've erased her memory of who she used to be, and I can't do anything to get that back. It was done too well. But that's not what's weird. There's a block of memory in her mind that's been purged from just last week. They'd have no real reason to do that, and that's what so strange. They did something to her, or with her, or had her do something that they absolutely did not want anyone to find out, not even her."

"How can you tell?" Jason asked.

"There's a difference between erasing memory and purging it," she told him. "Erasing it leaves nothing there, but it also leaves the chance that you might be able to recover some of it, depending on the resilience of the mind and the skill of the telepath trying to recover it. Purging it leaves what you might call a hole in her memory, totally excising that section of her memory by tampering directly with the neurons that retain memory, making it absolutely impossible to get it back. Purging is very hard to do, because you have to purge neuron by neuron, it takes a while, and you have to do it carefully or it'll cause the victim to go psycho. It's only really done when it's like the messenger is carrying top secret stuff."

Zaa frowned. "We are missing something here. The offer that this girl is to deliver is… incomplete. It is not right. It only makes sense at its face, but when one looks closely into it, given the current situation, it does not add up. The only possible use for it is to pin down the Karinne forces, but now that I consider the matter, that also makes little sense, because when one steps back and looks at the issue as a whole, one can see that the Imperium does not need the Karinne fleet to both quell the Trillane insurrection and defeat the Urumi in combat. And since the Imperium would not need the Karinnes to emerge victorious, then it means that there is some other meaning hidden within this message. And then there is the added mystery of why they would bother to purge this girl rather than simply erase her memory. That unsettles me greatly."

"It doesn't make sense because we don't see the whole picture, just little pieces of it," Jason reasoned.

"Or," Kiaari blurted, "we were supposed to find this girl."

"How so, child?" Zaa asked.

"An incomplete message that makes little sense? Purged memory? Maybe this was nothing but a test by the Urumi to see how effective the intelligence is at the Academy, and they purged segments of her that they couldn't risk we could recover using Karinne telepaths. Half the galaxy knows we're on very friendly terms with Karinne, and the power of Karinne telepaths is widely known."

Zaa's eyes narrowed. "Kiaari."

"Yes, Denmother?"

"Bring a medscanner."

"At once."

A Kimdori returned with Kiaari moments later, as Jason paced and worried, who carried a large medical scanner. He bent to the task quickly, checking over the girl, then checked the display and turned to Zaa. "I have given her a thorough check, Denmother."

"Your findings?"

"She is infected with a biogenic virus," he answered. "It is still in incubation, but is not a threat to any other, it is not contagious. I will not know more without further analysis in a lab environment."

"Have her cured of this virus immediately. Kiaari, inform Ayuma we are commandeering a section of the hospital. Grevix, report your findings to me immediately upon the completion of your analysis."

"At once, Denmother."

"Jason, Yana, abide with me in the analysis room while we await Grevix's report."

They waited up in the big room full of Kimdori, and Jason was quite confused. The message seemed to make a kind of sense, but Zaa was right in that it didn't make sense in the context of what was going on. It was really confusing, and under all that was the concern for this girl. She had quite a rough road ahead of her, he could see that. Without her memory, she had to build an entirely new life for herself.

They got information, but it wasn't what they were expecting. Jason was herded into a conference room off the main room by Zaa and Kiaari without explanation, and a hologram of Miaari appeared in the air before them. "I have news, Jason, Denmother," she said brusquely.

"Report, Handmaiden," Zaa called.

"I have uncovered some disturbing information," she stated. "I am uploading a datafile with the pertinent data for you to review after this report." She waved to her left, and a new hologram appeared, showing a planet and many long ships with wide, stubby wings. "I contacted the clans who watch Uruma and enlisted their aid, and Cybi helped gather quite a bit of critical visual and computer data evidence. The summary of this is that the Urumi do in fact intend to go to war with the Imperium, and that they are being backed by another government, who has supplied them with weapons and equipment that they believe will allow them to overpower the Faey and put them on even footing with Karinne."

The image zoomed in, to a gun turret on the black battleship. "This is a new weapon called a dark matter cannon," she informed them. "It is a combination mass driver and particle beam weapon, firing a stream of dark matter isotopes. This technology is far beyond the Urumi. It is advanced, even by our own standards." The image zoomed back out. "Captured data on this weapon indicates it is capable of penetrating Karinne armor, but is resisted by teryon shields. The Urumi are also employing a torsion wave generator, much akin to the Karinne torsion shockwave equipment, but instead of a field, it generates a pinpoint stream of spatial distortion, like a beam, which can penetrate any known armor and inflict shock damage on the internal structure of its targets. The Urumi vessels are being outfitted with harmonic tetryon shields, a rather unique design that seems to be able to at least partially resist MPAC weaponry, much akin to teryon shields. They too cannot hold up against MPACs for long, but they will provide the Urumi brief protection before their shields are brought down.

"The infantry is being supplied with weapons called omega weapons,"she continued, showing a serpentine Urumi and a human wearing black combat armor, and carrying a weapon that looked like a rifle with a tuning fork at the end. "It fires a compressed charge of omega energy, which is encased in a phased matrix that prevents its explosion in real space. For your benefit, Jason, omega energy is an upper-dimensional energy source similar to teryons, but is much more unstable. Karinne studied omega energy briefly before moving on to teryon technology. These omega weapons are capable of penetrating any known armor, but they too are subject to resistance by teryon shields.

"The Urumi were also provided armor technology, but reports indicate that they have not had time to refit their vessels to upgrade to this armor. It is an artificial isotope of Adamantium that is considerably more durable, almost on par with compressed Neutronium.

"The supplier of these technologies is unknown to us," she said. "We have only a single picture, and a name. They call themselves the Consortium," she said, and a picture of an ethereal energy pattern encased in a transparent skin appeared, floating beside a trio of Urumi as they moved from a dropship towards a building. "As you can see, they are energy-based beings, and we have no information or contact with them. Judging from the weaponry they are supplying to the Collective, they are much more advanced than the galactic norm, but have not yet reached the technological level of Karinne. Their weaponry would be considered outmoded by Karinne standards, but it still poses a viable threat, to both the Imperium and to Karinne." She glanced at Jason. "Thus far, reports indicate that the Urumi Collective has not shared this technology with the Trillanes. The alliance between the Trillanes and the Urumi seems to be for no reason other than to permit the Urumi to engage in war with the Imperium without fear of any other government getting involved. It was discovered that they feared that other governments may ally with the Imperium should they attack without provocation, because of the perceived threat to the Terran Academy. They needed a reason to go to war, and the Trillanes have given them one.

"There is one other matter to address," she continued. "The computer data supplied by Cybi, combined with intelligence reports, indicates that the Urumi have a more detailed knowledge of House Karinne than the Imperium. They know that Karis is repopulated, and have a very accurate assessment of Karinne military forces and disposition. Going on surveillance images plundered from Urumi computers, we have discovered their means of spying and eliminated it. Denmother, it was a hyperspace probe. Again, this must have come from this Consortium, for only we and the Karinnes have that level of hyperspace technology. It went undetected because, I must admit, I did not cover local hyperspace in my security network, and a probe was placed with the ability to look into normal space, which has gathered intelligence against Karinne. That is my responsibility," she said with a grim face.

"I see no reason to rebuke you, daughter," Zaa said. "I would not have covered hyperspace either. As you said, no others but us and Karinne have that ability that we knew of, but now we must take that into consideration."

"I will endeavor not to make such an error in the future, Denmother," she said contritely. "My assessment of this information is thus, my Denmother. The Urumi will attack, and their attack will devastate the Imperium, for they will be armed with weapons and shields that will give them a decisive advantage. The Urumi probably understand that the Karinne segment of the fleet will be their major threat, and we have information leading us to believe that several diplomatic and clandestine plots are under way to either dissuade Karinne from entering the battle, sabotaging their ability to do so, or fomenting discord between Karinne and Merrane. I highly suggest you warn Empress Dahnai to take precautions and be wary of plots both within the Siann and without. And Jason, I highly suggest you issue a security alert on Karis and initiate martial law until the Trillane matter is resolved. What we have discovered may not be all there is, and we must be careful."

"You have done well, daughter," Zaa told her. "Things are clear now. On the Academy grounds, we hold a second Terran Generation, one of the Terrans abducted by Trillane. This one was sent by the Urumi with orders to reach Empress Dahnai on Prius. She may very well be one of the attempts by the Urumi to stop Karinne from entering the war, but how she was to do this will not be clear until further information is made available to us."

"It would be logical to assume so, my Denmother," Miaari nodded.

"I would speak to Dahnai," she announced. "You will remain on Karis and see to the defense of the planet, daughter. Know that I am pleased with you."

"It will be done, Denmother," Miaari said with a nod of her head, then her holographic image dissolved.

"Now things are starting to make sense," Kiaari grunted, scratching her chin. "Now we know the Urumi aren't really stupid, or crazy. They're gonna blindside the Imperium using weapons given to them by this Consortium."

"But what does this Consortium gain from the deal," Zaa pondered, tapping her muzzle with a finger. "I must consider it. But important things first. I would speak to Empress Dahnai," she ordered.

Jason had no idea how that worked, because a Faey wearing Imperial livery appeared as a hologram before her. "Denmother Zaa," the woman said with a graceful bow. "I am Duchess Shey Merrane. You wish audience with the Empress Dahnai?"

"Immediately," she stated bluntly.

"I will put you through at once, Denmother," she said, and her image dissolved. What replaced it seconds later looked like a vidscreen monitor image projected into the air before them as a hologram. Dahnai was there, wearing a billed hat, with thick vegetation behind her. She was obviously in a tent, and Faey milled about behind her. "Denmother, it's an honor to speak to you," she said with a nod. "What can I do for you today?"

"Remove yourself to Draconis immediately, your Majesty," Zaa ordered. "Your life is in danger."

"Really? What's going on, Zaa?" she asked.

"Expand her view. Show her," Zaa called, and Dahnai's eyes widened.

"Jason! You're with Denmother? What's going on?"

"We have uncovered grim news, Dahnai," Zaa told her. "We have uncovered a deadly plot against the Imperium, and for your own protection, you must return to the palace immediately."

"Can you elaborate a little, Denmother?"

"Only in person. Jason Karinne and myself will be en route to Draconis shortly to explain the matter in detail, for a matter of dire importance remains where we are and we have no choice but to await information being processed for us as we speak."

"A warning like that coming from anyone but you would have been rebuffed, Zaa," Dahnai said soberly. "I'll get Kellin and return home immediately. I'll have my people contact yours with regular status reports as we move, so you can keep track of me and know where I am and how it's going, alright?"

"That is prudent. I suggest you call in a sizable task force of vessels to escort you back to Draconis. Now is the time for exceptional caution."

"I'll handle that right now," she nodded. "I'll bring everything I can get here in the next half hour to take me home. Is that acceptable?"

"Almost. Jason, jump your standby ships and the Aegis task force to Prius. This matter has more precedence than their current mission."

"I'll have it done, Denmother," Jason told her. [Cybi.]

[Yes, Jason?]

[I want the Aegis task force and every ship that can launch in the next five minutes to jump to Prius and defend Empress Dahnai as she returns to Draconis. Give it as a direct Dukal order, and tell them to take orders from whichever Imperial admiral has authority over the scene.]

[I am relaying the order.]

"It's done. I ordered my ships to take the flag of your commanding admiral, Dahnai."

"How are they going to get here that fast?" Dahnai asked curiously. "I didn't know you had a Stargate."

"Do not worry about how they will get there, and stop chattering, girl," Zaa told her shortly. "We will cease this transmission, and you will return home immediately."

"Alright, alright, I'm on my way. For what it's worth, thank you, Denmother. I'll speak to you again as soon as I'm on my transport and on the way."

"Go quickly and carefully, Dahnai," Zaa ordered, then the hologram dissolved. "Jason, contact Myri. Explain the situation."

He nodded, and touched his gestalt with a finger. [Cybi, I need to talk to Myri. Can you connect us?]

[She is already in contact with me. One second.] A new voice sounded in his mind. [This is Myri, Jason. What the fuck is going on?]

[Listen carefully, my friend. Things are getting really nasty. I'm giving you a direct order to bring the house to a full state of readiness. I'm declaring an emergency and instituting our emergency plan effective immediately. Do you understand?]

There was a long silence. [I understand, Jason. I'll send out the orders and bring the KMS up to full alert.]

[Good. I want you to collect up my wife, Symone and Tim, and all the kids and take them to Kosiningi, and put them with Cybi in the bunker. I want a company of Gladiators on the island with them.]

[Gladiators? What the fuck?]

[The Urumi have been spying on us, Myri. Karis is compromised,] he told her grimly. [Prepare the planet for a possible land invasion in addition to the normal defense preparations. I want everyone ready, just in case.]

[How the hell did they manage that?]

[In a way even Denmother Zaa didn't think possible,] he answered. [Now stop arguing with me and get the planet locked down.]

[We're on it, Jayce. I want you to keep a constant link with Cybi.]

[I will, I promise. Cybi, maintain a constant link with me.]

[I will ensure it,] she answered.

"I'm done, Denmother," Jason told her.

"Very good. Now, I wish for you to call together all the ambassadors at the Academy," she told him. "It is something that only the Grand Duke Karinne could manage. They will listen to you."

"Why?"

"It is simple, my cousin. The Urumi are attempting to declare war on the Imperium without involving the other governments. Let us tell them what is going on, and reveal to them the secrets that the Urumi have been keeping from the rest of the galaxy," she told them simply. "I am sure that the other races would be most interested to know about this Consortium and the weapons that they have sold the Urumi."

"But–ohhhhh," he said, his eyes widening as he understood. "Zaa, you are a genius!" he laughed.

"I am but the servant of my people," she shrugged, then she started when Jason reached up, grabbed her by both sides of her muzzle, pulled her down, and kissed her solidly on the nose. "Not in front of the children, Jason," she told him, glancing at Kiaari.

Kiaari almost fell over laughing.

Grevix's image appeared in the hologram. "Denmother, I am finished."

"Report."

"The virus was a biogenic product that was designed specifically for this human," he reported. "It was engineered to bond to segments of her brain and stimulate them in an unusual manner. I am no expert, but I would hazard a guess that it would provoke some kind of action or create some kind of induced state. But the puzzling thing is that the segments of her brain the virus was designed to attack deal with memory, not her motor control functions."

"Memory? Grevix, if this virus bonded itself to a section of her brain that had been prepared for it, what effect would it have?"

"Prepared? How do you mean, Denmother?"

"Telepathically purged."

"Purged? Hmm," he said, tapping his snout with a finger. "I dare say it would insert memory. The virus would write to those neurons, the same way biogenic memory cells write data to their cores. And since there would be no data there to interfere, the information would copy properly."

"So, the virus was the second half of the instructions she was given–"

"And what we got from her was just a decoy!" Jason gasped, to which Zaa nodded in confirmation.

"Held in utter secrecy until the virus activated, which would have installed into her her true mission," Zaa completed. "Grevix. Create a synthetic environment to which the virus will react and see what it does."

"That is a delicate operation, my Denmother. It will take some hours to accomplish."

"Then begin. I would know what this woman was sent to do."

"It will be done, Denmother. What shall we do with the female?"

"Is the virus removed from her?"

"Yes, Denmother. She is perfectly healthy."

"Return her to the holding cell from which she was taken. A Karinne will arrive presently to attempt to reverse the programming done to her by the Trillanes. Kiaari, send Yana to perform the task."

"I was going to do it, Denmother," Jason told her.

"You will be busy, and Yana is more than capable of the task," she said pointedly. "I asked you to assemble the ambassadors. Why is this not complete?" she asked pointedly.

Jason actually laughed. "Umm, because I haven't had a chance yet?"

"Then hop, cousin," she told him with a slight smile.

He could see she was feeling better, that was almost banter. "Have Kiaari point me to the nearest vidlink you're not using, and I'll get to work on it."

Kiaari took him to another small conference room with a vidlink, and he sat down and got busy. He contacted Ayuma and told her to get every single ambassador on a party link, including the Urumi. As each one answered the private line that only Jason and Ayuma could call, he had them wait, until he had all 37 of them. "Ambassadors, I need to address you," he told them. "It's a matter of grave importance. If you would be so kind as to assemble in the V.I.P. conference room on the sixth floor of the Administration building in fifteen minutes, we can get started. This is a serious matter, ambassadors, so please don't think you need to be properly dressed. I need you there quickly, so throw on whatever you have handy and get there."

"But I am not dressed, your Grace!" the Jakkan amabassador protested. "And in my case, that could be hazardous to the rest of you!" he added with a chalky smile, his pallid gray skin making that smile a little ominous.

"This is really important, Ambassador. How soon can you be ready?"

"Give me thirty minutes, if you would. I can be in my suit and present by then."

"Alright, thirty minutes. All of you please try not to be late. The Denmother Zaa has asked for this conference, and she will be addressing you."

That got a reaction. They all quickly told him they'd be there, and some of them even started running around, calling for their aides, without cutting their vidlinks.

As he went back to Zaa, he pondered the girl. How sad… they had taken everything from her. She would have a very hard road ahead of her, as she tried to figure out where she belonged in the scheme of things, and living with the knowledge that she would never know who she was or where she came from. But, she was family to him. She was a Generation. It was his responsibility to help her, take her in, give her a home and a place and a goal since the Trillanes had stolen her own. What they did to her was what he once feared the Imperium would do to him, back when he first got his talent, turn him into a zombie that did only what he was told, and used his powers like a machine, or a slave.

They knew she was a telepath, and from what he heard, they knew she was telekinetic. He could only wonder what they were going to have her do on Prius, now that they knew that the cock and bull story about the message was nothing but a diversion.

But it told them much, he saw. It told them that the Urumi knew about Karis, and they didn't care if the Karinnes knew, since they'd planted it in her as a decoy if she was captured before the virus triggered and she got her true orders. Why would they give that away? It was like they were announcing their intentions. It was like they were daring Karinne.

He returned to Zaa's room and nodded to her. "It's done, Denmother. Thirty minutes, the Jakkan has to get his radiation suit on."

"I hope you told them I would address them?"

"I made sure to mention it."

"Very good. Kiaari, upload that datafile Miaari sent into the Academy computer network under Jason's passcode, so that we may access it. Jason, go with her so you know exactly where that file is, so you might access it immediately upon my request."

"I'll do it right now, Denmother. Come on, Jayce."

They went back out to her desk, and Kiaari sat down and started typing on the keyboard. "What do you think about all this, Jayce?"

"I think things are getting ugly."

"Amen. I hope Yana can do something for our cousin. I hate seeing her that way, and it chafes my fur to think they were going to use her like that."

"Just another reason to take a pound of flesh out of Maeri Trillane's scabby hide," Jason growled. "I'm almost looking forward to a war with Trillane."

"Don't get like that, cousin," Kiaari sighed. "All the revenge you'll ever need is getting your people back. Let Dahnai handle the revenge, it's just not a part of you."

"I'm not above a little vengeance, Kiaari."

"I know, but don't let your emotions cloud your common sense, cousin," she told him. "Alright, where do you want this?"

Jason reached over and touched the icon of the file on the screen, then slid his finger to where he wanted it, which placed it there. "That'll work."

They returned to Zaa, who nodded to them. "Very well, let us go, Jason." She reached out his hand to him, and he took it, and in that touch, they shared.

As they walked, with his Imperial guards close behind, Zaa instructed him about how she wanted this meeting to go. He made sure to warn her that he invited the Urumi, but she told him that was actually for the better. She explained how she wanted the information arrayed, and that he would be doing the actual presentation after Zaa explained certain things to them. That didn't bother Jason, for he wasn't afraid of public speaking. She explained how to trample the Urumi ambassador's objections when he raised them, and then told him to make sure not to make any accusations, demands, or requests. He was to let the ambassadors simply hear what he had to say, then communicate it to their governments, no more, no less.

He was calm as they reached the conference room, which already contained 14 ambassadors of 9 different species, who all stood and bowed when they saw Zaa. It was a riot of different appearances, from the slender Sheega to the huge Skaa, and he greeted them with calm, cordial words when he and Zaa arrived. He waited by the podium while more and more ambassadors entered, bowed to Zaa, then took a seat among the raised rows. The last to arrive was the Jakkan, in his radiation suit to protect everyone else from his radiation aura, who took a seat in the front.

"Alright, we're all here. I hope there won't be too much delay for those of you using translators," he addressed them in Faey.

"We all speak English, your Grace," the Bari-Bari ambassador said to him. "It would be easier to use it."

"That works for me," he said in English. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on, so please listen. Denmother," he said, stepping aside.

"Grand Duke Jason Karinne contracted us to investigate certain matters pertaining to members of his race being abducted and held against their will by House Trillane of the Imperium," she began. "During the course of this contracted investigation, other information was discovered that impacts everyone sitting in this room. Usually, the Kimdori do not concern themselves with the goings-on of the other governments unless we are paid, but this is a matter too grave to be left alone, and so for the first time we have violated our strictures to bring you this matter. I believe you might understand how serious it is now," she said, her eyes sweeping across the room. "I will attest right here, right now, that everything the Grand Duke says to you is the truth. This information was either collected or verified by the Kimdori. Continue, your Grace."

The Urumi ambassador looked a trifle uncomfortable.

"I'm a simple man, your Graces," he said calmly. "I'm not going to stand up here and throw flowery, elegant paragraphs at you. I'm also very busy right now, so this will be straight to the point." The lights dimmed as his hands danced over the keyboard at the podium, and an image of an Urumi battleship appeared as a hologram beside him. "The Kimdori have been trying to find the people that Trillane stole off Terra when they occupied it, and that search led them to the Urumi Collective," he began.

"You have no proof of–" the Urumi began, but he found himself suddenly against the ceiling, held against it by Jason's telekinetic power.

"This is not the question and answer segement of the presentation," Jason said bluntly, looking up at him. "If I hear another word out of you, I'll drop you on your head. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can't–" he screamed, but what Jason couldn't do was never revealed, because the ambassador's head impacted the conference room floor, and then he swooped back up to the ceiling.

"Put a sock in it, Ambassador," Jason snapped at the Urumi, whose eyes were dazed and vacant as he recovered from the stunning impact. "Now, as I was saying, the investigation led to the Urumi, who we discovered were holding my people on Collective planets through an agreement with the Trillanes, where the Trillanes have been using their telepathic abilities to turn my people into loyal lapdogs of the house. While the Kimdori were hunting down my people, they came across this." The image changed to show the energy being. "This creature is an unknown species to us, but it represents a group called the Consortium. This group has entered an agreement with the Urumi where they've been selling them highly advanced weapons and military equipment, which the Urumi have armed on their ships." The Urumi ship returned to the image, and Jason came over and pointed at it. "Here, and here, and here. I'm sure the ambassadors here have a passing familiarity with most standard weapons, so you can attest that this is a weapon design never seen before. The Kimdori discovered this weapon is called a dark matter weapon, firing a stream of dark matter at a target. This weapon makes the Imperium's MPAC look like a slingshot," Jason said bluntly. "The data the Kimdori collected about this weapon puts it hand over fist above weaponry used by the common spacefaring governments. The Collective also received armor, shields, and infantry weaponry to go along with this weapon.

"Now, I'm sure most of you are wondering why this matters. After all, the Urumi do have the right to conduct business with anyone they please, and if they've managed to make contact with some outside group that sells them superior weaponry, that's their bonus for pulling it off, and I agree," Jason continued. "But this matters because, if most of you haven't heard, the Trillanes of the Imperium are preparing to try to break away from the Imperium, and the Urumi have allied themselves with Trillane. All of this was done for only one reason, and that was to give the Urumi a viable excuse to go to war with the Imperium in a way that wouldn't draw the other governments into the dispute," he said, which caused a rumble to roll through the ambassadors. "They were afraid if they just declared war on the Imperium without justification, your governments might fear that the Terran Academy would be threatened and move to intervene.

"This is a direct threat to the Karinnes as well as the Imperium," Jason said seriously. "After this information came to light, we tightened security here at the Academy, and that unravelled another plot. We intercepted a Terran telepath that the Trillanes and the Urumi smuggled into the Academy who was on her way to Prius, where the Empress is currently on vacation. This telepath is one of the Terrans the Trillanes abducted when they had control of Terra, who they trained and sent back as an agent. We have no idea what her mission was going to be there, since her mind was wiped by the Trillane mindbenders and it's pretty clear to us she was going to get her orders later on, but it's a pretty fishy setup, if you ask me. Sending a Terran telepath to Prius, where the Empress is? I think they tried to set us up, since everyone knows that all Terran telepaths are Karinnes. We think that they tried to either discredit us or turn the Imperium against us to keep Karinne out of the upcoming war, so they could completely plow the Imperium under and conquer Draconis before anyone could really do anything about it. But that's just conjecture and has no place at this briefing, so please ignore it. The fact is we caught her, but since we can't prove what her intent was, I'll leave that up to you.

"So, that's basically it," he concluded. "That's why we called you here. We won't ask for any help or ask you to do anything about this, esteemed ambassadors. I only wanted you to know what was going on, and the reasons for the war that's going to erupt in just a few days. I'll make a copy of all the pertinent intelligence data the Kimdori gathered available to you so you can include it in your reports to your governments, so they can look it over. Now, are there any questions you might want to ask?"

There was dead silence. The speed of his presentation left them quite dumbfounded, and the Urumi ambassador hadn't quite recovered his faculties to speak.

"Very good," he said, putting the Urumi ambassador back in his chair, with surprising gentleness. "I'm glad, because I'm quite busy right now preparing my house for war. So if you'll excuse me, this conference is over. Good day to you all."

Jason and Zaa left them in there and marched down the hall, Jason's guards keeping close pace with them, two in front and two behind. "Was that what you had in mind, Denmother?"

"It was quite acceptable," she smiled down at him. "You put all the facts out, and now those ambassadors will run back to their offices and inform their governments that the Urumi are armed with superior weaponry and spoiling to get into wars with their neighbors so they may expand. And now the Urumi will have much more to worry about, for they have been found out, and now they risk a war with everyone should the other governments feel too threatened by them."

"I love you, Denmother," Jason chuckled.

"I know," she said gravely, patting him on the cheek as they walked.


When he returned to the holding cell holding Yana and the girl, he felt a little better. Zaa's idea to go public with what they had was a master stroke, in his opinion, for it put the Urumi in a major dilemma. If they went to war, they threatened to turn it into a general war through the entire sector, for the Alliance and the Nine Colonies and the Skaa certainly would not be happy with the idea of a technologically superior government that was engineering wars with its neighbors for the sake of conquest, and that eliminated the advantage they gained by buying those weapons from this mysterious Consortium, a group that Zaa was already trying to bring out of the shadows. The Urumi were pulled into the spotlight, and now they had to decide if they were going to back off, or risk a war with everyone in the entire neighborhood.

Yana was seated in the chair when he got there, hands on her face, her eyes closed. He could feel Yana's power as she probed the girl's mind, so he remained quiet and hopeful as he waited for her to finish. "There's no need for that, Jason," she told him quietly, opening her eyes and looking at him. "I've been done for a while."

"That fast?"

She nodded. "What I had to do wasn't really that hard," she said. "The main danger was always going to be the possibility that she would fight back. Well, she was conditioned to submit to Faey talent, and that allowed me to do what I had to do without resistance."

"What did you do?"

"I removed the conditioning the Trillane mindbenders put in her," she answered, "but there wasn't much else I could do, really. Everything about her was erased, and it was done too well to get it back. She can speak, and has a basic understanding of technology and society, but not much else. She can read and write in Faey and in English, she could operate a vidlink, maybe even surf CivNet, but she has absolutely no memory of her past at all."

"And since she's one of the abducted, that means Trillane erased all her records," he sighed. "About all we can do is put her picture on CivNet in the missing persons section and see if anyone recognizes her."

"I know, but that's better than nothing," Yana sighed. "I've been triplechecking things. I don't want to miss anything inside her, Jason. If she's still carrying some programming, she could do some catastrophic damage when she gets home."

"Yes, that is why I will have her thoroughly scanned and tested before we release her to you," Zaa stated from the doorway.

"Denmother," Yana said, standing up respectfully. "I did my best."

"I am sure you did, child," she said evenly. "That could not have been easy for you, so return to the dropship and rest. Jason will be joining you very soon."

"I wouldn't mind a quick nap," she agreed. "That's always very tiring, and I don't really like doing it."

"I'm sorry, Yana. I would have done it, but I had something that really had to get done."

"That's fine, Jason. I'll be waiting for you."

Yana filed out, and Zaa sat down by the bed, looking down at the girl. The door closed, and the Denmother reached out and put her hand on the girl's neck. Jason was quiet while Zaa shared with the girl, then she nodded. "Yana was very thorough. The girl is completely purged of all Trillane programming. She is clear for you to take home, Jason. What do you intend to do with her?"

"I really don't know," he sighed. "I just feel sorry for her. The next few weeks are going to be very hard on her."

"Just treat her with kindness. That goes a long way, cousin." She glanced down. "The sedative has worn off. I will wake her."

In seconds, the girl opened her eyes. She blinked and looked at Zaa, not with fear, but with wonder. Then she looked at Jason when he leaned over her. "How do you feel?" he asked gently.

"I dinna' know," she said in Scottish brogue. "Where am I? Who are you?" She pursed her lips. "And who am I?"

"I can't say it in any way that makes it easy, ma'am," Jason told her gently. "But we don't know who you are. For right now, let me tell you that you've lost your memory and we currently aren't sure how to help you get it back. I'm sorry."

She was quiet a long moment. "Where are we?"

"We're at the Academy of Terra. Do you know where that is?"

"Nay."

"It's a very large school in America."

"Where is this America?"

Jason sighed. Yana wasn't kidding when she said they erased everything. All she had was her language skills and working knowledge of certain technologies… but perhaps they could help her there. Telepathy could impart knowledge easily, and maybe he could convince Miaari to use her gifts to share what couldn't be granted with telepathy. "Well, let me just say this. I'm going to take you home with me. You're a distant relative of mine, but I'm the only family you've got right now, and I'm going to take responsibility for you while you recover. Can you understand that?"

"Aye, that I can ken."

"Good. We live on a different planet from this one, so I need to take you to my ship, so we can go home. Do you think you're well enough to walk?"

She sat up. "I feel fine, uh, what's yuir name?"

"I'm Jason. This furry lady here is the Denmother Zaa, the leader of her people."

"Greetings, child," she said with a nod.

"I get a funny feeling when I look at ye, lady," she said curiously. "And ye too, Jason."

"That's just the proof that we're related," Jason smiled. "I'm afraid we don't know your name, ma'am, so would it offend you if we called you Rahne for now? Until we can find out who you are?"

"Nay, Rahne is fine with me."

"Rahne?" Zaa asked curiously.

"It's the only Scottish name I know," he shrugged. "And she's definitely a Scot."

"What is a Scot?"

"Scotland is the country where you were born, judging from your accent, Rahne. The people from that country are colled Scots."

"Ah."

"Now, if you'd be so kind as to get up and follow me, my guards are waiting just outside. They'll take us back to my ship."

"Guards?"

"Jason is the Grand Duke Karinne, child, a person of very high stature and importance," Zaa told her. "It would please me if you would listen to him and follow his orders, for he only seeks what is best for you."

"A-Aye, milady, I'll do me best," she said after staring at Zaa for a moment. "If I've truly lost me memory, then I'd only be a smart lass to trust someone."

"That is a good attitude, child," Zaa told her, holding her hand out to the redhead. She took it, and Zaa helped her to her feet. "Now, a certain truth must be made clear to you before we leave this room. Rahne, child, you are a telepath, and that is memory you have not lost. Jason," she called, looking to him.

That means you can communicate like this, Jason sent to her.

I–I can do this, she replied reflexively. What an amazing thing!

Just one of the many amazing things in store for you, Rahne, Jason sent reassuringly, holding his hand out to her. I don't know who you are or where you come from, but I can show you who you can be. Would you like that?

I would like that, very much, she answered, taking his hand shyly.

Just don't get any ideas. I'm married, he winked.

Rahne blushed.

Aya, we're going to the dropship. [Contact the Defiant and tell them we're returning.]

What was that? Rahne sent curiously.

[This is a part of your heritage, Rahne. It's a special way to use your power that only a very few can do,] he explained. [You can send the same way I am, just think the way you hear me and send it out.]

[Like this?]

[Perfect,] he nodded. [This is your first test, Rahne. What we're doing now, it's the most secret of secrets. Until we have time to explain things to you, this is something you can't tell anyone about, alright?]

[I understand,] she communed with a nod.

"Denmother," Jason said. "I'll hear from you soon?"

"I will contact you on your return home," she told him, standing up. "Take good care of her."

"I will," he promised. "She's family."

"She is indeed."


Rahne was going to be just fine.

After returning home to drop her off on the way to Draconis, he introduced her to everyone, and they took an immediate liking to her. Jason handed her off to Jyslin in Kosiningi, who promised to take good care of her. When he boarded the dropship to go to Draconis, Cybi had taken charge of the girl and began communing with her. Jason felt the edges of it, and realized that Cybi was going to use communion to give the girl an education, but he could also feel that Cybi was going through her mind to make absolutely sure that neither Yana nor Zaa had missed something and left something dangerous in her mind.

That made him completely comfortable. Nothing could hide from Cybi.

Zaa and Jason returned to the Defiant, and they jumped to Draconis… and it was quite a shock. The planet was surrounded by military warships, and Jason saw with more than a little pride a complement of nearly 30 Karinne warships, almost half his fleet, including the nearly two mile long behemoth that was the Aegis. He wasn't larger than the two other capital ships present in orbit, but since he was his, in Jason's mind he was the grandest of them all.

They were escorted down to the palace by four Raptor fighters, two from the Empress and two from the Defiant, and a complement of Imperial Guards met them at the landing pad. Aya and her squad saluted the other Guards smartly, and Jason was sure they were sending among themselves in greeting, but they also brought Jason and Zaa directly to the Empress' private apartments, Aya carrying a case holding Jason's panel. Kellin was changing clothes when they entered, Dahnai handing him a pair of underwear as he shrugged out of some rugged outdoor clothes he'd been using at the dig. "Jason, Denmother," Dahnai said, coming up and taking their hands. "I'm home safely, as you can see," she added with a smile.

"I'm sorry if we scared you, Dahnai, but it was really the smart thing to do," Jason said. "Thank you, Aya," he said as she handed him his case. "We've got a lot to talk about."

"I'm almost crossing my legs in anticipation," she said with obvious banter. "Let's sit down and you can go over this with me."

They did just that. Kellin joined them on the couch as Jason and Zaa explained what Miaari had uncovered, and the panel Jason brought held the datafile that had all the technical data they'd collected concerning the weaponry and equipment. "Well, fuck," Dahnai breathed after they finished. "I guess this tears it," she growled. "It's gonna be war."

"No," Zaa said calmly. "There is a way out of this, Dahnai, a way that the Urumi might not understand until it is too late."

"How do you mean, Denmother?"

"Child, the Urumi seek to enter war with you using the Trillanes as justification. Remove that justification. Force them to declare war on you in the name of aggression, which will sway others to your cause when they attack."

"How am I going to do that?" she asked.

"Simple, child. When Trillane declares independence, do nothing."

"What?"

"Do nothing," she repeated. "Allow it. Issue the usual protests, but make no aggressive moves. Make it clear you want to settle the dispute through diplomacy, not force. Do this, and the Urumi have absolutely no viable reason to attack you. And what is more, it will buy you precious time to research the data we have given you to better prepare yourself for the Urumi when they do attack. The weaponry and shields given to them by this Consortium are powerful, but they are not unstoppable."

Dahnai furrowed her brows. "Denmother, that might not work. If I let the Trillanes go, then my empire might disintegrate."

"Not if you explain to the Imperium why you are not using military force," she said calmly. "We have revealed this information to every government who keeps a consulate at the Academy, Dahnai. This is now common knowledge. By letting Trillane go, your nobles will not see it as weakness, but as cunning, and they will know that the Faey must remain together, must remain united, in the face of the Urumi threat. Any house that tries to break away from the Imperium would be swarmed under by the Urumi before the declaration reached your desk. They will see this, they will know it. They will not try to rebel."

Dahnai leaned back, rubbing her chin in thought, but Kellin put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's got merit, love," he told her. "Think about it. You'd be backing the Urumi into a corner by making them risk war with the Alliance and all the others if they come after us."

Dahnai looked to her guards, and all of them nodded silently. She blew out her breath, then she laughed. "That's just crazy enough to work!" she declared. "Denmother, have I told you lately that I love you?"

"It is always nice to hear, child," she said with a slight smile.

"I think that's the way we'll play it," she announced. "I think it's time I made some calls to the Grand Council of the Alliance and the Emperor Sirzza of the Skaa," she said. "They're the ones bordering Urumi space, they have the most at stake here."

"That is a wise beginning," Zaa nodded.

"If you'll excuse me then."

"I will be returning to Kimdori Prime, Empress," Zaa told her. "My work here is now complete, and it is time for the Kimdori to return to their place in things."

"I should get home as well," Jason said. "I have a lot of work to do to get ready."

"Aww, you just got here!" she complained.

"You're going to be busy, I'm going to be busy," Jason told her. "We can have a social visit some other time."

"You never pay me social visits anymore," she accused.

"I'm rebuilding my house," he said bluntly. "That keeps me just a little busy."

"I'd say you're about done, given that fuckin' huge flagship you have parked in orbit," she winked. "How'd you build that so fast?"

"Who's to say it wasn't built already?" he shrugged.

"Riiiight," she drawled.

Jason stood up. "I'll call you later, Dahnai. I need to be kept up to speed on what's going on."

"That's fine."

"Are you alright to get home on your own, Denmother?"

"Yes. I will have Jinaami summon a transport to take me home."

Jason moved quickly to extricate himself from the apartment, even before Zaa, and his four guards followed him as he went back to his dropship. That was, brief, your Grace.

I didn't want to get trapped in there, he answered. We have a lot to do, and not much time.

Do you think the Urumi will attack? Shen asked.

They didn't go to all this trouble to pack up their new toys and go home without a war, he sent grimly. That much I'm sure of. And now that the Urumi know we know what they're doing, they might launch an attack without bothering to wait for the Trillanes to declare independence.

That is a possibility, Aya nodded.

Our only trump card is they have to jump, and hyperspace is our domain, he sent as they left the palace and moved towards the dropship waiting for them. We'll know where they are and how long we have. All those hyperspace beacons we seeded through the sector are going to be handy now.

The hyperspace beacons. At the time, Jason didn't think much of them, thought they were kinda silly. But now, now he understood why Miaari wanted them. They were seeded through the entire sector, automated devices that lurked in hyperspace, powered by teryon technology, which allowed them to function… and since they were machines, hyperspace had no effect on them. Hyperspace and real space worked in different ways, but by anchoring those beacons to positions in real space, bridging them between hyperspace and real space, they operated in the temporal frame of real space, not the temporal frame of hyperspace, but remained in hyperspace, which made them invisible to every scanner, probe, and camera ever made. There were no relativity issues with them, so they reported movements through hyperspace in real time, and now those beacons were going to be critical. If the Urumi jumped their fleet, they would know where they were going and how long it would take them to get there.

At least he hoped to God they would. Miaari made no mention that the Urumi got upgraded engines in their deal with the Consortium, and if these Consortium fellows could build hyperspace probes, then they clearly would know how to build jump engines that did not suffer the relativity delay. If they did get those engines, then they'd have no idea where they were going to show up until it was too late.

And they had to plan for that eventuality.

The Urumi knew about Karis, and knew how many ships Karinne had. That put them at a major disadvantage, for Karinne's fleet was actually rather small, and would not be able to repel the entire fleet of another civilization.

But the Urumi only knew about what they could see. Odds were, they only had a vague understanding of the extent of the automated planetary defenses around Karis, which were rather extensive. Building those defenses was the first project Myleena tackled once they were ready to do it, and she had consulted many military experts to design what she considered to be the optimal system for planetary defense. The defense grid included automated satellite-based weapons, drones, the virtual onslaught of weapons based on Kosigi, ground-based weapons and missles on the planet, and their trump card, the planetary Teryon shield.

Karis was the only planet in the Imperium that had a planetary shield. It was the first major piece of hardware they built on Karis, a series of 117 shield generators placed at locations around the planet that worked together to generate a shield that protected the entire planet, powered by a massive singularity power plant that was buried in the mantle of the planet, and had not been destroyed when the Merranes attacked Karis. It only took about two months to repair that power plant to bring it back online, and it was so large and generated so much power that it was the power source for virtually everything on the entire planet. Only Kosiningi was not connected to that power plant, for emergency and security reasons. And because of the sheer size of the shield and the power it took to generate it, the shield was very, very strong.

If they ever raised the shield, it would cause quite a bit of power shuffling. The shield would take all the resources of their planetary power plant, causing their planetary power grid to shift to its backup power, which was a series of singularity plants built on the surface, each responsible for a sector of the planet. Those plants would also be powering the weapons, though, so the civilian power systems would be going on conserve mode.

They were going to be relying on that now.


Raira, 14 Shiaa, 4400 Orthodox Calendar
Tuesday,12 November 2013, Terran Standard Calendar
Raira, 14 Shiaa, year 1326 of the 97th Generation, Karinne Historical Reference Calendar
Kosiningi Emergency Response Center, Kosiningi Island, Karis

Jason had never had a more nervous two days in his life.

The entire planet was swarming with activity as the Karinne house members prepared for the possibility of an attack on Karis, and everyone was pitching in, even the Parri. The population responded calmly and well to the martial law declaration, for they were people chosen by the Kimdori for their independence and temperament for handling unusual situations. There was no panic, no chaos, no hoarding. People asked what they could do to help, the Karis Guard told them what they could do to help protect the planet… and it got done. And what was more, nearly half of the population started going out and about wearing old or second-hand armor and carrying weapons, showing that if it came down to it, they would resist any attempt by a hostile force to invade the planet.

That made Jason unbelievably proud. These people were civilians, not soldiers, but they had used a replicator pattern distributed by the Karis Guard and built armor for themselves, and had checked railguns out from the armories, proving their determination and making Jason almost explode with pride that his people would be so selfless and brave. The Kimdori had chosen most of the civilians in his house to come to Karis, and they had chosen so well.

He was going to kiss Zaa again next time he saw her.

Even the Parri were getting involved, which was a shock. The shaman had been brought to Kosiningi by her request, and though the Parri wouldn't fight, what she did was perform a ceremony on the island, a prayer and ritual asking her gods for good luck, their blessing, and the strength to see through this crisis to a favorable outcome. Jason didn't believe in her religion, but he wasn't about to make her stop, either.

Things were busy everywhere. Songa, who ran the medical service on Karis, had prepared all hospitals and clinics for possible combat injuries, but was now on the island to personally take up residence in the clinic. If there were any injuries among the Dukal family, she was going to be the doctor in residence to treat them. The Kimdori prepared everything as best they could, and then the non-essential Kimdori withdrew with Jason's blessing. They had never been put on Karis to hold Karinne's hand, only to fill holes until Karinne could fill those positions themselves. There were still many Kimdori on Karis, but they were technicians, engineers, people whom Karinne had not been able to replace yet, and they would not fight.

Jason spent most of that time in the vacation house had built there, sitting in front of a vidlink hearing reports, giving orders, and basically overseeing things as the KMS locked down the planet and prepared for war. The automated defenses were brought online and made active, and the planetary shield generator was brought into standby mode, meaning the shield could be brought up in four minutes after it was engaged. The entire Karinne fleet was recalled, and they were staged near Kosigi, ready to respond at a second's notice to any threat.

Things got wild out in the galaxy as well. As Zaa predicted, the other governments had a fit when they found out about the Urumi, and the space between Uruma and everywhere else sizzled with angry communications as the Urumi tried to explain themselves to their neighbors.

Dahnai did her part. She made Trillane's intent to secede public knowledge in an open address to the Imperium, then boldly revealed the Urumi complicity and their deal with the Consortium. Then she declared that she would not attack Trillane with force if they carried through with their plans, but would instead send emissaries to Arctus to try to bargain a diplomatic solution to the crisis, one that wouldn't give the Urumi any opportunity at all to launch any kind of attack that wouldn't be seen as anything but hostile.

The Trillanes clearly realized what was going on, and much to everyone's shock, even Dahnai's, Maeri Trillane requested an audience with Dahnai to discuss the situation that morning, which would be taking place in about a half hour, if he read the clock right. Clearly, Maeri had taken a day to think things through, and realized she was in a very dangerous situation here. She was looking at getting caught between an angry Empress and so-called allies that were only using them to try to engage in war.

That set the stage. Now, the ball was in the Urumi's court, and everyone was basically waiting to see what they did. The Skaa and the Alliance had not yet made any public declarations about what they would do if the Urumi declared war, but from what Miaari told him, they were very angry, and very worried about this new Urumi aggression.

He couldn't help but pace. What was Maeri going to do? He should have gone to Draconis, he should have been there, but it was just not a good time. He needed to be here, he needed to make sure his people were going to be alright. He glanced out the window, and saw his Gladiator standing on the grass near his house. Inside that black exomech was Sergeant Myka, and three other Gladiators stood nearby, part of the personal retinue of defense for the Grand Duke and his family, standing silent guard with railguns in their mechanical hands, watching as the kids played tag out on the field. That was just one example of what was going on in his mind. His kids were being defended not just by the Dukal guards, but by Gladiators, with Raptors circling the island defensively and the Aegis sitting in synchronous orbit right over the island, visible to the naked eye in the daytime sky high overhead as a bright white spot in the red-tinted sunrise.

He made another circuit in his study, then went down the hall and went into the bathroom without knocking. Jyslin was there with Rann, both nude as she was both bathing their son and getting a bath herself, in a Faey tub, which was very shallow and rather long. There were two tubs in a Faey bathroom, a shallow basin tub for washing, which included a shower, and very deep tub for soaking and relaxation. Rann was giggling as Jyslin washed his hair. They'd just gotten up not long ago, and part of the ritual in the Karinne house was the morning bath… which usually involved all three of them. "Did you sleep at all, love?" Jyslin asked. Since Rann's birth, they spoke aloud for his benefit, both so he could understand his parents and also to help him build his language skills.

"Not really," he answered as Jyslin dumped a large bucket of water over her son's head, which never failed to make him squeal and laugh.

"Well, why don't you join us? You could probably use a bath, and it might help you relax."

Jason sighed, then nodded. "I'm so tense right now you could bounce a credit off my back," he admitted.

He undressed and joined them in the wide, shallow basin, with water that only came up to his shins, then sat down beside his wife and helped her finish cleaning Rann up, rinsing the soap off of him. She then turned and began scrubbing his back while Rann ran around on the soft tiles of the bathroom floor, then climbed over the side of the soaking tub and splashed in. It wasn't over his head, but it did come up to his neck. He put his hands on the side and watched as Jyslin both washed Jason and helped him relax, her sensitive hands and her talent guiding her as she soothed his knotted muscles, and her presence calmed his whirling mind.

"Where were you last night, Daddy?" Rann asked.

"I was making sure everything's all good to make sure the planet is safe, son," he answered. "It's one of the jobs I have to do as the Grand Duke."

"Oh. Will you be done soon?"

"God, I hope so," he breathed. "How was the picnic?"

"Oh, we had lots of fun!" he said excitedly. "Kyri fell in the water, though. You shoulda heard her yell!"

"Why would she yell?" Jason asked curiously.

"The water is cold here, Jason," Jyslin told him. "Colder than at Karsa."

"Ah, that'd do it," Jason chuckled. "You know, I've never gone swimming here. I didn't know that."

"It's not that bad, but it is a bit chilly when you first jump in," Jyslin added, dumping water over his back to rinse off the soap. "There's some good waves on the south side, though. Ilia's been teaching people how to surf."

"I wondered what they were making at the replicator that was so big it couldn't come out in one piece," he chuckled. "What kind of board did she make?"

"Foamed silicon," she answered. "With lots of air pockets to make it bouyant."

"Wow, that's pretty clever," Jason said appreciatively, as Jyslin turned him around, and he had to take a moment to admire his wife's nude form. She gave him a light smile when she saw where his eyes were going.

It's nice to know my husband still loves to ogle me, she sent impishly.

It's such a lovely body to ogle, he sent in reply.

You know, I can think of something else that might help you relax, she sent, her thought tinged with desire.

I'll certainly be taking you up on that later, but right now I need to be available if something sudden comes up, he answered with a little regret.

She put her hand on his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him lovingly. Whenever you want, love, whenever you want.

"Ewww, stop kissing!" Rann demanded. "That's icky!"

"Is that so, little man?" Jyslin said archly, standing up. "Then it's time to make my Rann all icky!"

Rann squealed with delighted laughter as Jyslin invaded the soaking tub and smothered him in kisses as he squirmed and struggled. Jason lathered up his hair and watched as his wife continued to torment their son with kisses, then she laughed and threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Then she winced. "Rann honey, take your foot out of mommy's crotch. That hurts."

"Sorry mommy," he apologized.

"What's going on out there right now?" she asked him.

"Right now the Trillanes are having a conference with Dahnai, or they're about to," he said. "That's what's got me so nervous," he admitted as he rinsed his hair, then reached for the shampoo. "What happens in that conference is going to influence everything else. If the Trillanes break away, then it's all on the Urumi. If they back out, then who knows what's going to happen. It's just a big headache," he groaned, dumping a bucket of water over his head, which made Rann laugh when he spat a stream of soapy water out of his mouth." He stood up and moved to the soaking tub, and while Jyslin massaged his shoulders, he sat Rann up on the lip of the tub and started drying his hair with a towel. Jason found it hard to conentrate on that when Jyslin leaned up against his back and put her arms around him, feeling her breasts pressing up against him in a very sensual manner, that triggered a response out of him that he was glad Rann couldn't see.

You're really pushing it, aren't you? he sent with wry amusement, conveying just what he was feeling on his back to her.

She laughed. I wasn't doing that on purpose, she assured him. Do you want me to move?

Yeah, I do. He pulled her into his lap, which made her gasp and laugh, then she made a cooing sound when he put his hand on her breast and fondled her in a very intimate manner. There, that's much better.

You are such a tease! she accused, then her eyes widened slightly, and she grinned at him. Oh, baby, now I know how much you care, she sent, wiggling her hip against his erect penis. Let me do something about this big problem you have down here, baby, she offered, assaulting him with graphic sexual thoughts.

"Rann."

"Yes, daddy?"

"Go dry off and get some breakfast," he told him, setting him on the floor. "Your mommy and me want a little private time."

"Oh, okay," he said. "Can I have pancakes?"

"You can have pancakes," Jyslin said to him, then she started nibbling on Jason's ear in a highly erotic manner that never failed to get his undivided attention. How much time do we have?

Not much. Ten minutes, maybe, Jason answered as Rann ran out of the bathroom without a towel. Jason wasn't too worried, it wasn't the first time he'd run naked through the house. Ayuma would corral him and sort him out.

Not a problem, she sent lustfully as she slid a leg over his lap and straddled him, her hand sliding down to gently hold his genitals. I think we can both manage to come in ten minutes. And if I don't, well, I can always just get you off then go see Tim. What matters is what you need right now, baby. And there's something down here that needs my attention.

Ten minutes was a very short period of the day, but it was inevitable that no matter how little time he allowed himself a little good old fashioned physical pleasure, life was going to find a way to interrupt at that exact moment. As he and Jyslin had sex in the bath, right as he was about to climax, there was a sudden and loud knock on the door. GO THE FUCK AWAY! Jyslin sent angrily, gripping his shoulders as she did nothing more than try to make him climax as quickly as possible, but she suddenly stopped when the door opened despite her angry warning, and Miaari entered.

"Miaari! A closed door is closed for a reason!" Jyslin snapped at her. "We're busy!"

"You can finish mating later," she said brusquely, without batting an eye. "This is important."

"I don't think I can," Jason said breathlessly. "It just doesn't work that way with us, Miaari. Wait for me in the study. I can't stop now."

"You must. This cannot wait."

"It's going to have to," he said adamantly. "Give us a couple more minutes."

"Very well. But be quick," she said.

"We might have been done by now if you hadn't bothered us!" Jyslin growled. "Really! Can't we get five minutes alone?"

"Less talking, more finishing," Jason said urgently as Miaari backed out the door and closed it.

"Finish. Yes, finish," she agreed, lunging down and giving him a hungry kiss.

After they did indeed finish, Jason marched into the study wearing a towel and carrying his clothes. Miaari was sitting in the chair by his desk patiently. "I think you really pissed Jyslin off, Miaari," Jason told her, pulling the towel off and scrubbing it through his hair, trying to get his breath back. "You might want to apologize after she cools off."

"I would not have disturbed you if it were not important," she said defensively.

"I know, but she was–well let's say she was being very accommodating to me."

"I don't understand."

"She didn't orgasm," he said bluntly. "She knew we didn't have much time when we started, but I was in the mood. It was all about her giving me an orgasm. She didn't manage to orgasm herself because you barged in and she knew we were out of time. She's all hot and bothered now, so she'll probably go track down Tim and have sex with him so she can orgasm," he explained, and he didn't feel self-conscious at all about using such language about something so intimate with her. He was very close to her.

"I apologize for that."

"Eh, she'll be alright once she gets off," he shrugged. "Now what happened?"

"Hyperspace sensors have detected a large-scale jump out of Urumi space, Jason. They are on the move."

"Where are they going?"

"Their fleet is jumping to three locations, Jason. The first is Arctus. The second is Draconis."

"Where's the third?"

"Here. They have jumped an attack fleet to Karis, Jason. They are coming."

"Well, fuck," he sighed. "How long?"

"They have staggered their jumps so they will all arrive simultaneously at all three locations in six days," she answered. "the Arctus attack fleet numbers 73 vessels. The Draconis attack fleet is 385 vessels. The force coming here is 184 vessels."

"Did you warn Dahnai?" he asked, putting the towel on his shoulders.

She nodded. "I still have her on the vidlink, and she wishes to speak to you," she said. "Shall I wait for you to dress?"

"She's seen me naked before," he shrugged.

Miaari chuckled and went over to the panel, then activated the holographic emitters on the far wall. A rectangle appeared, like a panel monitor, and Dahnai's face appeared within it. "Well, I think I pulled you out of something important… or out of some important girl," she said with a wink. "Your dick has that freshly fucked look about it, babe. You're still half hard."

"This isn't the time to be nasty, Dahnai," Jason said with a slight blush. "Did Miaari tell you what she just told me?"

She nodded. "The sizes of those fleets are going to help a lot, but as you can imagine, this is not going to be pretty. I barely have the forces to repel what's coming at Draconis. The Urumi didn't hold anything back, babe. They're sending everything. They don't even have any ships left to defend their own planets. And with them set to all arrive at the same time, we can't move reinforcements to shore up any one point. I'll have to divide my forces and slug it out with them."

"Do you think you can manage it?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be touch and go, but I think we can repel them. I just finished a little chat with Maeri Trillane, and she's decided that she doesn't want to declare independence after all. I think that might be what caused the Urumi to launch, since they lost the Trillanes… and they're sending a fleet to Arctus to punish Maeri for backstabbing them. So, I have the Trillane fleet added in with the rest of the Imperium for defense. Black Ops is going over the specs you sent, and they might have some hot fixes by then. If not, well, we outnumber them five to one shipwise. We can overwhelm them with sheer force of numbers so long as we fight near the planet, so the planetary defense grid can add to it. Miaari said they're attacking you too, and you may not be able to help us. Is that right?"

He nodded. "They're sending nearly three times as many ships as I have," he admitted. "It's going to be ugly. But despite that, I'm going to send a cruiser and three destroyers to Draconis and Arctus. They'll help you. We analyzed the Urumi's weapons, and our ships can stand up to them. You're going to need that kind of defensive option to help you."

"Babe. Jason. Do you need reinforcements? If so, then don't send those ships, and I'll send you what I can."

He shook his head. "We have the same situation you do, hon. As long as planetary defenses assist, we should be able to repel them, so I'm willing to lend you those ships. They help me by helping you. You are rather imporant to me, hon, and I'd rather not see that pretty ass of yours parked in an Urumi prison." He grabbed the end of the towel on both ends and held onto it. "Did you tell the other governments about this?"

"I just got this. I'll spread the word as soon as we're done. If we're lucky, they'll declare war on the Urumi and help us, but I'm not going to depend on that."

"We can always hope," he said.

"Well, let me get to work here, babes, and let you get back to whichever lucky girl it was you were fucking," she said with a little leer.

"We were just finished," he said dryly. "Besides, after this news, Im not sure I'd be in the mood anyway. I'll dispatch those ships to you by the end of the day your time."

"If you think you're going to need them, hon, please, don't hesitate to call them back. I don't want you to risk the safety of your house over this."

"We should be alright, Dahnai. Right now, the safety of all of us is what matters."

"If only we could all think that way," she sighed. "It truly does say much of you that you're willing to send ships to help Trillane. I'm not sure if Maeri will kiss you or curse you for it."

"She can decide after we beat back the Urumi."

"Amen. I need to go, hon. Please, give me some way to contact you."

"I'll call you in a while with a number you can use," he told her. "In the meantime, I'm going to be busy."

"I will too. Talk to you soon."

Dahnai's image dissolved, and Jason could only sigh. Well, now they knew what the Urumi were going to do. There was no doubt that it was meant to be a surprise attack, but now that surprise was going to be on the Urumi. The hyperspace becaons had ferreted them out, and now they knew exactly when they would be here. But Jason wasn't so sure they left their territory as undefended as Dahnai believed. He'd almost bet they had defenses there, they wouldn't gamble everything on this attack. If it failed, then the Urumi would be annihilated when they were invaded on all sides by the Faey, the Skaa, and the Alliance.

The door opened, and the generals all started to file in, though Myri pulled up short when she realized Jason was nude. We shoulda knocked, she apologized. But Miaari summoned us and said it was urgent.

"What the fuck, come on in," he said with a sigh as he walked over to the desk and pulled his underwear from the wad of clothes he brought in with him.

"Well, I must say, your Grace, you've made an old woman happy," Navii said with a naughty grin as he pulled on his underwear.

"Keep that happy feeling, Navii," Jason grunted. "You're going to need it."

"That sounds like it's on," Myrii said grimly.

He nodded. "Miaari just brought me the news. We have six days to prepare."

"I have a ship count of 184 vessels en route to Karis," Miaari said. "I cannot give ship classes in that, however. The hyperspace sensors are not quite that refined."

"Well, we knew it might come to this," Navii grunted.

"Three to one odds… that's not quite an even fight with our planetary defenses added in," Juma noted. "We have a tactical advantage."

"Not quite. I want two cruisers and ten destroyers deployed to Draconis and Arctus, half at each planet. Dahnai is going to need them. The Urumi have also deployed attack fleets there."

"Still, we can afford to give up twelve ships of those classes," Juma surmised after thinking a moment. "And since they have sufficient armor and shields to resist these Urumi weapons, they'll be very useful to the Imperium."

"That's why I promised them to Dahnai," he answered.

"We'll be ready, your Grace," Juma assured him. "I have all naval forces at ready, and now that we know they're coming, we can prepare some extra surprises."

"What kind?"

"Mines, your Grace," she answered. "We took a page out of your old Legion playbook, I think the human expression goes. Myleena designed some very effective mines for us, and we can build about a thousand of them in five days. We know where they're coming from, so it's just a simple matter of spreading them through the most likely jump destination points and in the path they have to take to reach Karis."

"That should work," Jason nodded. "Ground forces?"

"They're ready, your Grace," Sioa answered.

"I want to evacuate most of the civilians to hardened shelters," he said.

"Most of the civilians have enlisted in a defense militia," Sioa told him. "I'm deploying them to areas that need additional protection."

"You don't need all of them."

"Of course not, but they're going to be very helpful defending critical tactical assets, like our power plants and our communication nodes. I had to hold a lottery about it."

"Why?"

"Because everyone wanted to go," she told him. "The winners get to serve in the militia."

Jason chuckled humorlessly. "Usually people don't want to be drafted."

"Well, being in house Karinne isn't about being usual."

"Well said," Navii grinned.

"Alright, is there anything else we need to talk about right now?" he asked. "So I can get dressed and make some vidlink calls."

"Not really," Myri said. "We've been ready for this for quite a while, Jayce. Now that we know they're coming, there's not much more we have to do except wait."

"And that's the hardest thing," Juma grunted.

Chapter 4