by Yakov Merkin
Darkclaw sampled a number of the foods and drinks, as he accepted praise from the Snevan officers for his actions in the battle. Truthfully, he did not see the point in expending so much effort in preparing foods. True, they gave it different tastes, but the only thing food—nutrients, really—was needed for was survival; taste was as irrelevant a thing to note as the table’s rough, stone-like texture. It would serve its purpose as well without elaborate preparation. However, he was forced to concede, emotional beings would likely not be satisfied with the same, base tastes for long.
“Sso, Eexeecutoor,” said First Flight Commander Senkar, who was the first of the high ranking Snevans to extricate himself from the food, “what iis yoour puurposse foor yoour iinvasiion of thee Aliiance? What wiill Ssneevaa gaain byy ssuppoortiing yoou? Wee would noot fiight aagaiinsst our Feeliinaariiss frieends, of coursse, but wee musst gain ssomethiing too pleease those who oppose an alliiaance wiith yoou. Thee Alliiaance would bee pleeased iif wee doo not enter thee waar.”
The Snevans did not have the same hatred for the Galactic Alliance as the Felinaris did; despite the recent attack, and their resignation from the Alliance, they had had less direct conflict with it and respected an enemy bold enough to strike Sneva. Darkclaw had anticipated that they would want assurances other than the defeat of an enemy. Unfortunately, there had not been an opportunity to contact the High Lord to discuss promises, though Darkclaw was reasonably certain that the High Lord would not approve of any concessions. Not that it would matter of course, as the Snevans would need to be subdued as well, once they had outlived their usefulness. Even more so than the Felinaris, the Snevans would need to be kept in the dark. One decisive victory on their part could make subduing them even more difficult than taking on the Galactic Alliance.
“We are prepared to grant you sovereignty over a number of conquered Galactic Alliance worlds, in addition to a great deal of combat and the general spoils gained from it. There are only a few worlds that the High Lord demands we control, including Dorandor, but most of the others that are left intact we will not require, and we have no need for those that the war devastates.”
There was a gleam in the supreme warlord’s eyes at Darkclaw’s remark, and paused his eating, not bothering to remove the spots of blood on his beak. “Yoou are moosst generoous, Eexeecutoor. Wiith seeveeraal moore ssysstems under myy controol, Ssneevaan iinfluueence wiill bee as greeat as iit was beefoore our joiiniing of thee Alliiance, and iit wiill mooliifyy those who blaame yoou for thee attaack. But of cooursse, yoou wiill have deemaands of uss as well.”
“I do,” Darkclaw replied, “though they are not very many. I will of course, require full cooperation of your offensive military forces, and I insist on being in overall command of the war effort. Additionally, I will need to use Sneva as a staging point for some of my offensives. Between my staging points on the edge of Alliance space, Felinar, and Sneva, we will be able to strike at nearly all systems in the Alliance without much difficulty.”
“Noo!” Flight Commander Keyrsa shouted, slamming her armored fist down on the table. Somehow, it did not break. Darkclaw wondered for a moment if incidents like this were common enough that the table was designed to withstand heavy beatings. “Ii wiill not aallow Ssneevaa too bee made iintoo a target again! Wee have alreeadyy loosst fiiftyy shiipss aand sseven hundreed ssnevaan-vaar beecause of yoour waar! Nesst Fliight iis not sstrong eenough too deefeend agaiinsst a heeavyy asssaault alone. And wee are thee neearesst too thee eenemyy—yoou are ssafe faar from theeir core worlds- theey wiill aataack aagaiin iif Ssneevaa reemaiins a hiigh value and weeak taarget!”
At least the Felinaris seem capable of using their emotions to their advantage. This Snevan is allowing them to cause problems she cannot solve.
“In truth, Sneva should be safer if it is serving as a base for our forces. There will always be fleets passing though to aid Nest Flight should you be attacked again. And let me remind you, Sneva was attacked before you even entered the war, and I helped defend your world. What makes you think the Galactic Alliance will leave you be even if you do not join us and remain neutral, as you will not fight your Felinaris friends, who are sworn to me? I am your only option.” Potentially offending the Snevans now would not be an issue; the supreme warlord was already inclined to join him, and would, based on his earlier actions, laugh at any small insult Darkclaw made.
“Yoou sstiink of treeacheryy, Teeranodon! Yoou move from offeriing worlds too cooerciion faar too quiicklyy. Wee caanot bee forced iintoo yoour war. Ii doo not beliieve that yoou can wiin thiiss war. And Ii wiill noot aalloow Ssneevaa too bee at the mercyy of yoou or thee Alliiaance! Wee shoould end yoou heere and noow!”
Before Darkclaw could reply to the flight commander’s ramblings, another emotion flash hit him. He felt an insane urge to strike the idiotic flight commander, to make her shut up. This emotion he recognized—anger. He quickly forced it away, hopefully before it was noticed. Once it was gone, he thought for a moment. Could the Snevan actually sense that he would turn on them later, or was she just crazed? And more importantly, would any others pay heed to her words? He had to shut her up now, and the only way to accomplish that was to make a calculated risk.
“I came here to make my offer out of goodwill. You are no friends to the Alliance, and your friends the Felinaris are already on my side. I aided you in battle before I even presented my offer to you. I can win my war with or without your assistance—as a favor to the Felinaris I decided to make my offer to you to ensure that you did not end up fighting against us. However, should you move against me, you will be completely annihilated. Should he desire to do so, the High Lord could destroy you and the Galactic Alliance on his own. With a word, I can just as easily make your power in this galaxy grow as stamp you out. When I said I was your only option, I meant it. You will have no way of remaining neutral in the coming war. With me, you will see victory. Against me, you will die.”
The Flight Commander was quiet for a moment. “Yoou sspeeak much, Teeranodon, but Ii sseee eemptyy threeatss. Manyy conquerors take advantaage of others’ problems too eearn trusst beefoore beetrayyiing iit.Yoou are too conviiniient, Teeranodon, and when chaallenged yoou use thiiss ‘Hiigh Loord’ as a threat, wiith noo proof iit exiisstss. Yoour Hiigh Loord cannot ssaave you heere, jusst as iit caannot deesstroyy uss!”
With that, she spread her wings and leaped over the table at him, knocking aside goblets and food as she leaped.
Unsurprising. Darkclaw pushed himself back so that his chair fell back, and the Snevan’s leap carried her over him. As she flew overhead, Darkclaw reflexively slashed at her with his exposed claws, which easily tore deep gashes in the armor, though he did not reach flesh. He had not attempted to cause injury—he was actually surprised that his claws could do that to thick armor—the strike had been only to ensure that the Snevan did not attempt to land on him. For a moment, he thought he saw something in the empty space that he had gouged out of the armor, but a moment later it was gone. There is your proof, he considered saying.
His two bodyguards reacted quickly, stepping aside to avoid her leap, then each dropped their rifles and grabbed a wing in one hand, then drew and activated their energy swords in the other. The wings had a far lighter exoskeletal covering, in order to allow the Snevan to use her wings while armored. Attached to her back was a small rocket pack, likely to help her get airborne—a Snevan’s weight in the armor had to be much greater than it normally was. But allowing for use of the wings did make them a weak point.
The Tyrannodon soldiers forced her to turn around to face the table, energy swords positioned to slice off her wings should she attempt to break free.
Darkclaw calmly stood up and glanced at the supreme warlord. For the first time, the Snevan looked angry—his forehead was furrowed, his eyes narrowed almost to slits.
“Wee doo not ataack guesstss, Keyyrssaa!” he shouted, omitting her title. “Leeave now-beefoore Ii deciide too sstriip yoou of yoour rank!”
&nbs
p; The flight commander stiffened, but nodded. The Tyrannodon soldiers freed her wings, which she immediately folded up, and stalked out of the room, leaving her helmet behind.
“Are you alright?” Nayasar asked once the doors slammed shut again.
“I am fine,” Darkclaw replied simply. He would have to test his claws on other materials—perhaps there was more to his gift than he realized, and they would be of far greater use in open combat than on defenseless, fleshy necks.
“Yoou contiinuue too iimpresss, Eexeecutoor,” the supreme warlord said with another attempt at a smile, “thoough Ii reegret that yoou weere attaacked whiile myy gueesst, under myy proteectiion. Yoou are moosst weelcoome too reemaiin oour guesst whiile wee wriite a foormal treeatyy.”
“No,” Darkclaw replied. He would not allow for any more delays here; this had taken too long already. “The treaty must be completed today. I will not waste more time talking while the Galactic Alliance prepares for me. If that cannot be done, then I will leave you in peace, with a promise not to attack you unless you act against me.”
The supreme warlord was silent for a long moment, then said, “Veryy well, Eexeecutoor.” He slammed his hand down on the table. “Ssummon a sscriibe!” he ordered. “Theere iis a treeatyy too wriite!”
Darkclaw nodded, satisfied, as several Snevans darted from the room. Finally, things would progress.
* * *
It had taken several long hours of negotiating before the treaty of alliance was formally signed. Perhaps in response to Darkclaw’s demand that the negotiations be completed immediately, the Snevans increased their demands—they wanted control of no less than six major systems, and a plethora of other guarantees once the new government was established. While it would not matter in the end, Darkclaw was reluctant to promise so much; the High Lord would not like it. But it had bought the Snevans’ assistance, which would only speed up the war with the Alliance. What happened afterward could be another matter entirely.
Once the supreme warlord had signed the agreement, all had agreed to take a recess to allow those who wished for it a chance to rest, before meeting again to discuss the war plan. Nayasar and Felivas had joined him, the supreme warlord, and First Flight Commander Senkar in the throne room to formulate a plan.
“At this point, we must assume that the Alliance is aware that it is being attacked, and is mobilizing its forces,” Darkclaw began, standing beside the table they had eaten at earlier, which looked larger now that there were far fewer people in the room. “I estimate that we will have between two and three weeks until their forces are at a point where they can make effective, coordinated moves against us. We must use this time, while we still have a major advantage, to do as much damage to the Alliance as possible.” He placed a small projector on the table and activated it, bringing up a small image of the Galactic Alliance’s territory.
“Our initial move will be to cut the Alliance in two.” He pressed a button on a controlling device in his hand, and the image changed to display a smaller area of Alliance space, the narrowest band of it, and the four systems that sat along the border. “If we take each of these four systems in succession, the Kanor, Algen, Irhan, and Darvian systems, we will be able to completely cut off almost half of Alliance space from the core worlds, both containing the Legion Navy and allowing small fleets to take the cut-off systems. It will take a large amount of ships to ensure that aid does not reach these systems, but if we keep them contained then we maintain the initiative, and we will be the ones who choose where and when a battle takes place.”
“Oour iinterdiictoor warshiipss wiill bee of use for thiiss aactiion,” the supreme warlord volunteered. “Wee wiill neeed feewer shiipss too paatrool between thee captured ssyysstems.
Darkclaw had not been aware that the Snevans possessed interdictor warships. Capable of both forcing vessels out of hyperspace and preventing them from jumping to hyperspace, they would indeed free up a great number of ships. While he disliked there being more that he still did not know, he was certain that this would be the last time he would be surprised. Of course, he still could not let his allies know that he had been unaware of this, though in the end it meant he had an asset he had previously lacked.
“They will make things far easier,” he agreed. “Even only a handful of interdictors will be able to hold an enemy fleet in place long enough for our forces to move to intercept. But first, we need to secure our position. We will not bother to completely conquer any planets. It will take far too long and cost us too much. All we will need are sufficient locations to install anti warship batteries. Most will be placed in major cities, which will allow us to eliminate centers of operation while providing suitable locations for our defensive batteries.”
“And what will we do when the planet’s populace attempts to repel us?” Nayasar asked. “We cannot let them retake our conquests.”
“We will not need to fight them. We will fortify our strongholds around our ground batteries, and maintain enough ships in orbit to react to any attacks. Once our position is secured, we will broadcast a message across the planet saying that if any attack is made against our positions, our forces in orbit will destroy a city. Should attacks persist to the point where holding our position is no longer viable, we will withdraw our forces and destroy every city on the planet. Should we be forced to do this once, it is doubtful that the inhabitants of other worlds will do the same.” Darkclaw stopped, and glanced at his counterparts. The plan of attack was clear; they should not have many questions. They had lost enough time already.
The Snevans did not appear to have reacted to his statements, but Admiral Kharitzon avoided his gaze. Nayasar looked thoughtful, then nodded. “It is an unpleasant thing we may have to do,” she said, perhaps more to Felivas than to the group, “but we have no other option. Completely conquering a world intact will take months, not to mention the lives of a great number of our own forces. Hopefully, our enemies will know to admit defeat and we will not be forced to resort to these… drastic measures.”
Darkclaw nodded. “Of course this will be an act of last resort, but the lives of our forces must come before those of our enemies.” He could not have the Felinaris become reluctant already. An uncommitted ally was more detrimental than an enemy, in many cases.
“How can you know that taking such drastic action will help us?” Felivas asked. “What is to say that this will not spur the Alliance to make a massive strike at Felinar, or Sneva in response?”
Was that the reason the admiral had reservations, or did he have a moral objection? “The Galactic Alliance will not be able to do such a thing. By its nature it cannot take such unilateral action; its leadership will try to please all of its members, and it will not be allowed to move its entire force to one location. For all they know, we will take that chance to completely annihilate their core worlds.”
The admiral appeared mollified, and nodded in understanding. “If we are to take the Kanor, Algen, Irhan and Darvian systems as quickly as possible,” he said, “then we should divide our forces and take the Kanor and Irhan systems simultaneously.”
“Agreed,” Darkclaw replied. It was fortunate that the admiral was quick to offer suggestions when he had been uncomfortable moments earlier. Doubtless he still had reservations, but he fortunately seemed able to not dwell on them.
“The Kanor system,” the grand admiral added, “is protected solely by a complex network of orbital platforms. Disable it, and the planet will fold without further fighting. According to our intelligence reports, the system is powered by three generators in orbit around the planet, within the defensive web. If a strike force of ships can penetrate the defensive systems, they could systematically destroy the generators and depower the defense platforms.”
“You seem to have planned for this mission extensively, Grand Admiral,” Darkclaw noted. “I assume that you plan for your own forces to assault Kanor.”
She smiled. “I do. There was little else for me to do these last few months aside
from formulate plans. My fleet will be capable of carrying out this assault, though I would also request that a portion of the Snevan fleet accompany us as well.”
“Conssiider iit done, myy frieend,” the supreme warlord said. “Ii wiill perssonaallyy leead myy foorces iin ssuppoort of yoour attaack. Thiiss wiill bee a glooriiouss conqueesst.”
“I would be honored,” Nayasar replied.
“Very well then,” Darkclaw interjected. “The Felinaris fleet and a portion of the Snevan fleet will assault Kanor, while my fleet will attack the Irhan system with the rest of the Snevan fleet. As tempting as it is to remain here and plan through every detail, we would be better off finalizing our plans of attack en route. The more we become accustomed to communicating with each other when not in the same room, the easier it will be to coordinate during battle. Agreed?”
All present responded in the affirmative. Darkclaw was about to rise to go when he noticed that while they had been talking, Snevan aides had brought out a bottle of wine and glasses for each officer at the table—those for the Snevans were interestingly shaped to make it easier for them to drink with their beaks—and the aides were now in the process of filling each glass. Another ceremonial delay.
The supreme warlord stood and raised his glass. As the others began to rise, Darkclaw did so as well.
“Too thee end of thee Galaactiic Aalliiaance!” the supreme warlord bellowed.
“To the end of the Alliance!” Nayasar echoed, emotion plain in her voice. Felivas and First Flight Commander Senkar echoed the sentiment simultaneously.