“If the galactic distance is small, the larger ones can. Resource depletion and accuracy of jumplines are the determining factors. Wardens are not designed for such travel, while their carrier vessels are.”
“If we are able to damage the Hadarak forces in our galaxy sufficiently, will that prevent them from growing another Colony Spore?”
“They will prioritize local combat over expansion.”
“Then we can protect other galaxies by containing the Hadarak here?”
“Theoretically yes. But without the Founders’ assistance you will not survive the current purge long enough to damage their ability to expand. They are most likely beginning to grow a new Colony Spore now unless your attrition rate is high enough to concern them. Based on your inability to stop their advance, I calculate that to be unlikely.”
Mak’to’ran looked back to the dim spark in the sky that would not go away. “Not only do they insult us by denying us the right to exist, they do so while using this galaxy as a power base to invade another. I once thought the Zak’de’ron were the ultimate power in this galaxy, and now I find my peers to be nothing but overlooked denizens too unimportant to be noticed by the true powers that dominate this galaxy. Even your Founders spurned the Zak’de’ron as a race, while choosing one of them to be recruited into their service.”
“The universe is an overlapping of multiple perspectives. Even the Hadarak and Founders cannot contend with the Apocalypse Monsters, nor know their origin or purpose. They are to be avoided, just as your kind are to avoid the dominant powers in this galaxy if you wish to continue to exist. You have drawn out the Hadarak by some means you did not understand, but those who take refuge in the Temples will survive it. The Founders have provided you sanctuary against them and the Universe.”
“For what price?”
“The price of assisting them in destroying the Hadarak in this galaxy when the time is ripe for their return.”
“And when will that be?”
“When the strength of those in the Temples is sufficient to warrant their return.”
“That is a lie,” Mak’to’ran said, arguing with the machine but not caring, for it was his only active contact out here in the desert between Cal-com’s occasional visits. “We have the power now to fight the Hadarak, but the Founders’ Apprentice chose to suppress it. He wanted us to run, to put us into Encapsulation to store us away for a future time that most likely would never occur. We have the power to defeat the Hadarak now, and we are beginning to use it.”
“What power do you possess that I am unaware of?”
“We are warriors. Do you know what that means, Responder?”
“Those that fight for a profession.”
Mak’to’ran huffed. “Wrong. Warriors are those that have the will to stand up against the impossible because the conflict is righteous. And it is the warriors that will wade into combat not knowing how they will achieve victory, but crafting it along the way.”
“How do you know victory is possible before ascertaining the correct strategy?”
“We can smell it, Responder. That is not something a machine would understand, nor do I think those who programmed you could understand. If they did, they would have some Founders in every galaxy leading the resistance against the Hadarak. Instead they leave useful machines behind with dubious purposes.”
“My purpose is clear. To train those who would resist the Hadarak into higher skill levels of Essence combat, for only Essence powers can defeat them.”
“Also incorrect,” Mak’to’ran said, staring at the distant Essence Rush. “Essence might be the greatest power in the galaxy, but the Hadarak rely on their minions for conquest. The conventional combat, en mass, is what will determine the fate of the War of the Galaxies when Essence reserves are depleted.”
“I do not believe you understand the magnitude of the threat you face. Only Essence power coupled with conventional warfare can defeat the Hadarak. Conventional warfare alone is doomed to quick failure.”
“Not if you have enough troops and are willing to fight bloody. I and the V’kit’no’sat learned this primitive form of combat well when we did not have the weapons necessary to face the Hadarak…yet we did, and defeated many of them, despite it being impossible. If the opposition grows large enough, even the Hadarak’s Essence will not save them.”
“The reproductive rate of the Hadarak is extreme. It is unlikely you will find a faster means to produce reinforcements.”
“We already have,” Mak’to’ran said, feeling the first shred of confidence after seeing that dreadful spark in the sky and realizing what it meant. “But our leadership won’t fight that way. I didn’t understand why for a long time, but now I do. And mark my words, Responder. We will not fall to this purge, inadequate as we are now. I taught them too well in my foolishness, and now the galaxy will be rewarded for it. The Archons will outgrow the enemy, as they did us. I do not know how, nor do I know how long it will take, but I will ensure they have the time they need…and when they are ready, this galaxy will be ours, not the Hadarak’s or the Founders’.”
“That is highly unlikely.”
“So is the heresy of Terraxis rising to dominance over the V’kit’no’sat, then rescuing us from our self-inflicted demise. I have seen the impossible done, Responder. And it will be done again,” Mak’to’ran said, staring defiantly at that spark. “No matter how long it takes.”
5
November 22, 128885
Solar System (Home One Kingdom)
Earth
“Hello, Esna,” Davis said as Ard Ri Esna-58321JOR-18 walked into the small briefing room last out of the 8 guests to arrive.
“Director,” she said with a curt nod of her head adorned with neon red hair pulled back into a tight bun with
