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SAFES Liaison's Log, Science Vessel Searcher , September 18th, 2555:

I must admit that with all my experience doing my obligatory service, I have never been party to a formal interrogation. Ample informal ones but never in the room with a professional from SAFAG-I. In a way, it's almost like watching an exceptionally gifted tactician outflank and close in on an entrenched position: constant probing for weaknesses but rarely are they immediately and obviously exploited. Given that the science staff from the laboratory were very willing to share information, however, I probably have not seen the full gamut of a professional interrogator's skill set. Still, watching a cultivated eidetic memory at work was an amazing experience and one that I honestly do not expect that I'll see repeated anytime soon.

At any rate, the first round of interrogations were exceptionally productive. The scientists, for all their genuine willingness, were relatively useless as far as military intelligence although the few sociological tidbits they slipped in were apparently very enlightening based on the reactions of the interrogators. The real palladium came out of the science director and the zhreli engineer that the infiltration team first encountered. As he assured the infiltration team, the science director was entirely willing to provide us with any scrap of information he could. As part of the naturally-occurring palace intrigues, he accumulated vital military statistics such as the approximate numbers, composition, and disposition of the Viis Imperial Fleet which he provided to us although he seemed to be puzzled by our interest in his numbers which indicates, at least to me, that he did not fully understand the information he had accumulated. Or perhaps he did and was trying to play the interrogators a little but either way, his information indicates that the task force faces an overwhelming numerical disadvantage and may not enjoy the option of flight if fully engaged. I'm planning to contact my team on the Charles as soon as possible but the possibility of the target of the gate reflex function being bombarded by unknown and unpredictable quantities of energy while the system attempts to submerge it and pull it back is something that we had never considered in our tests. Astrological bodies, after all, have a general pattern of emission that obeys certain established physical mechanisms which a computer, especially a BSY-20 supercomputer, can predict. Weaponry, however, can take thousands of different specific forms, each with their own mix of kinetic and other energy and I would be very surprised if the Viis warships failed to take advantage of mixed attack munitions. At any rate, I predict that this will mean reinforcements although what kind I cannot say. At worst, some more frigates; at best, an upgrade to a carrier battle group. I almost wish there were enough mobile dockyards to include one in a standard CBG but alas. I plan to have a more personal interrogation session with the director soon but for now, all we have is some general disposition and size information.

The engineer was a much more enthusiastic subject but I suspect that his information is of a more dubious quality if only because he was a virtual prisoner of a laboratory when we found him. His claim is that one reason that Viisymel is presently uncovered is that their fleets are engaged in suppressing rebellion in their outer colonies. In an ironic twist of fate, it seems that if we had not shown up when we did, the Grand Admiral would have joined the main body of the fleet to personally oversee the suppression. Just our luck: we arrived in time to convince him to stay and be an obstacle.

_ Dr. Melinda Campbell, SAFES _

"Thank you all for your prompt attendance." Shadow spared a smile for the gathered commanders. "I realize that things have been somewhat off-kilter the last couple of days with the extraordinary events that took place, both in the success of the infiltration mission and the fact that our team returned with significant interrogative intelligence as well as electronic."

Shadow had actually been better than a couple of days, giving almost four to let the team rest and Dr. Campbell interpret before calling a formal debriefing. Sera suspected her friend had casually conversed with everyone directly involved in the mission beforehand and already had a rough idea of what could come out of the meeting; she thought fondly of the hour she'd spent with her best friend drifting between indulging giggly girlfriend chatter and more serious conversation. She'd learned that the reason Shadow had pulled the transport back was that she'd been informed that a previously dark surface detection station had gone live unexpectedly and had diverted Weed's formation to spoof it before they circled back and did their final strafing sweep. Dr. Campbell was reportedly very annoyed with her ship's BSY Core for getting indicators of the station's existence but forgetting to say anything (in the process learning that it was possible for a computer AI to forget).

Shadow finished her greetings and gestured for Akeya to begin her report on the mission. The SpecOps asset, without her rifle for the first time since Sera had met her, walked to the head of the table and faced those assembled.

"In short, the mission was an unexpected success." She said, speaking without her casual Southern drawl. "Unexpected not because we were doubtful of our capacity to complete our narrowly-defined objectives but unexpected in that we did not anticipate that we could achieve success beyond the narrow constraints of the mission. In short, as is likely well-known, we were able to obtain significant humint assets, specifically the head of all Viis scientific endeavors and the scientific team from the lab we raided. We were also able to obtain assets in the form of test subjects, all of whom are sentient and at least two of which have already proven able to provide additional intelligence on the Viis."

"Did you not also fail to anticipate that the Viis might have a failsafe system?" Jenkins piped up with a distinct smirk, albeit one directed at Dr. Campbell who made a show of ignoring him.

"We failed to anticipate this system, yes." Akeya agreed calmly. "We were unaware that the Viis had any capacity to implement such a system since our knowledge of the technical limits of their ground transport technology was, and remains, very limited although there is some prospect that the zhrelli engineer we encountered may be able to enlighten us."

"However, lest my colleague forget, we have a multiple-level failsafe system of our own." Andropoli interjected, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm of his use of 'colleague' directed at Jenkins. "It performed efficiently due to the quality of personnel which Admiral Williams was able to effect. I shall have to have a word with Pilot Officer Bong, however, about the proper altitude for coming out of a strafing run."

"There ain't no harm in twistin' their tailfeathers a mite, Commodore." Akeya drawled with a small grin. "Tain't no good to be good 'less you can show it off."

The comment inspired a chuckle around the table and at a subtle nod from Shadow, Akeya returned to her seat, replaced by Dr. Campbell. The physicist cleared her throat and unclipped an archive screen from her lab coat, setting it on the podium.

"It is rare to say this but I believe our team leader was greatly understating the volume and importance of the intelligence that her team was able to obtain." She said, looking down at the screen. "While their scientific methodology is deplorable, it is apparent that supremely high-density data storage is familiar to them. It only took one of the hundred-yottabyte drives General Wilson carried to copy the entire laboratory computer but it has been expanded to two hundred times that volume. In short, commanders, that laboratory computer seems to have contained a systematic archive of every biological experiment or biology-related advancement since the beginning of the Viis Empire, whenever that took place. It is an incredible compendium of data, naturally, but the most relevant portions date from the last hundred of their years. In short, it is readily apparent that the laboratory we raided and subsequently destroyed was emphatically not a biological warfare development facility."

"My oh my, Doctor." Jenkins smirked. "That is just so..."

"Major, don't force me to eject you again." Shadow sighed. "You will remain professional and respectful or you will leave and this time, you won't return."

"Oh, oh, yes..."

"Your sarcasm does not count as respect, Major." Shadow growled. "If you're unable to be professional, just nod your head and shut up."

Jenkins sighed in very exaggerated annoyance and nodded.

"Good." Shadow nodded curtly. "Please continue your presentation, Doctor."

"As I was saying, the facility we penetrated was emphatically not devoted to developing a pathogen to be used as a weapon." Campbell continued as if she'd never been interrupted. "It is clear that they were working frantically and that the subject of their research was a pathogen but it was not with the intention of using it but, rather, combating it."

"Didn't you say, Doctor, that you didn't believe their frantic efforts were in response to a plague?" Nomi inquired.

"We were mistaken." Dr. Campbell admitted. "It did not occur to us that they would be so frantic to understand and combat a sickness that had already been successfully contained and eliminated. We still lack the information to surmise why the upsurge in effort coincided with our arrival above their world but the limited amount of data we have suggests that it was pure coincidence, that there was an entirely different reason they shifted into panic mode."

"So if it has been contained and beaten back... why did they seem so terrified of it?" Akeya asked. "The director said he would just as soon we shoot them as enter the part of the lab where their samples were kept. You'd think they wouldn't mind us getting infected with a horrible disease, seeing as how they love us so much."

The doctor smiled a little. "Simply put, Major, the pathogen is very narrowly species-specific." She explained. "Records indicate that the plague lasted for many years and was 100% fatal. Infection was, and apparently is, death."

The commanders at the table traded startled glances; no pandemic they'd ever heard of was 100% fatal and incurable. Either ignoring the reactions or not noticing them, Dr. Campbell plowed on.

"I took the liberty of consulting every expert I could scrape together from Biometrix, the Pasteur Institute, and Los Alamos and they concluded that the pathogen in question is like no disease we've ever encountered." She continued. "It spreads rapidly through air and apparently through some distance in normal atmosphere considering the paranoid containment measures the Viis eventually resorted to. It enters the body and multiplies in the way a virus does, using the resources of the body to make more of itself. Its replication and the immune response, however, is not what causes the illness. After replicating itself to a sufficient degree, it attacks the central nervous system with a powerful convulsive neurotoxin that can bypass the blood-brain barrier, a characteristic distinct to a independently alive organism such as a bacteria or parasite. It also appears to be impossible for the immune system to fight because the bodies of the afflicted bypass all of the normal signs of immune response such as mucous, swelling, fever, and the like and go straight to convulsive death. In fact, one of the Biomextrix doctors confirmed my theory that almost as many Viis died from their convulsing bodies delivering fatal cranial trauma as died from the neurotoxin that caused the convulsions. The wildly convulsive nature, by the way, is where the disease gets its name: the Dancing Death."

"Did we get anything useful from this infiltration mission, Doctor?" Andropoli suddenly asked. "I fully understand that the mystery in science appeals to a scientist but thus far, your report sounds as if we risked lives and a possible open breach with an imperial power to learn about the Black Plague of Viis history."

The spindly doctor was brought up short by this, looking surprised, before a rueful smile stole across her muzzle. "You are right, Commodore." She acknowledged graciously. "The Dancing Death has little use to us directly except as interesting trivia. However, as Major Obsydien pointed out, we have a rich store of data a few interrogation sessions away. Certainly, I imagine, the zhrelli engineer and the aaroun named Ampris will willingly tell us all they can and give us invaluable insight into the Viis Empire. But as much as it seems cliché, we still do not know what we have. The wild cards in this are our Viis prisoners, especially the Director since he has some sort of direct access to the Kaa and might provide valuable insight into Viis society. But interrogations are a matter best spoken on by the military, not a theoretical physicist however accomplished."

"Then do you have anything else to report, Doctor?" Shadow asked politely.

"Nothing upon which I have hard data." Melinda replied. "My impression of Viis scientific practices is that they once had a scientific apparatus that would put ours to shame but have allowed it to decay for reasons I cannot speculate upon. There are tantalizing hints of major breakthroughs in data storage, superluminal travel, ballistic sciences, and power generation but the capacity to replicate these scientific achievements or even understand them seems curiously lacking."

"If I may, Doctor, I believe I can offer some insight." Sera spoke up. "A couple days ago, Ampris came to visit my quarters, primarily because she was looking for someone to convey her gratitude to for the rescue. We had a short conversation, perhaps an hour or so, but she told me that the Dancing Death so devastated the Viis population and laced their bloodlines with so many genetic defects that it obliterated their ability to maintain their scientific advantage or, it would seem based upon our mission, the engineering results of that scientific advantage. She conveyed the rumor that they secretly rely on their slaves, especially the zhrelli engineers, for all of their technical upkeep and construction. If true..."

"We've got a big problem." Jenkins interrupted. "We've got an empire who still thinks highly of themselves, still regards themselves, knows themselves, to be superior to all others. It's a racial trait, maybe even a genetic one, built in or trained in... and they're seeing it all come apart around them. The lesser races seem to be on their way up without even earning it, without even seeming to realize that they are ascending above their betters. Nothing is working to arrest the plunge, not even the greatest brutality, nor killing, nor enslavement, nor even sick little science projects. Their bloodlines are riddled with weakness and disease and they fear for the future-and a stricken animal that knows its weakness is all the more likely to lash out, perhaps in fear, perhaps in rage... but lash out anyway. In short, they're at the point of being the greatest danger to others, especially others who have ignorantly stumbled upon them and possibly seen their weakness."

There was silence around the table, a silence born of complete dumbfounded shock. For the briefest moment, Jenkins was someone else entirely, someone other than a sneering arrogant jackass who couldn't control his mouth. There was a strong tone of painful bitterness in his monologue and for once, he didn't try to meet anyone's eyes as he spoke his piece. He sat there for a few seconds after he stopped, glaring at the table before looking up. "So in short, Admiral, your little side trip has fucked our larger mission and possibly endangered the entire Governance because we couldn't just do our damn scans, turn around, and leave this cesspit Empire to choke its last. You whine about how I don't do any intelligent analysis? There's your analysis, Admiral."

"You've been holding out on us, Major." Shadow replied after a moment. "Who would have thought that a miserable little ass like you could possibly be insightful?"

There was a brief moment where Sera could have sworn that Jenkins looked grateful for the decidedly typical retort to his extremely unusual outburst but instead, he grinned widely, lounging back into his seat with the former smug look they'd all come to know and hate hitched firmly in place.

"I am afraid, Admiral, that I must agree with the Major's... colorful assessment." Andropoli rumbled. "It does indeed seem that while we have won a great battle, we may have lost the war. If General Wilson's information is good and Dr. Campbell's assessment correct, we have just obliterated one of the major medical laboratories in the Viis Empire and the masters of this empire are already teetering on the tip of desperation. I have no use for them, granted, but we do have an information-collection mission that may be compromised."

"There is another consideration, however." All of the heads turned to Nomi who had remained silent through the meeting. "Tell me, Commodore... when Russia needed to distract the serfs from starvation and misery, what did they do?"

Andropoli looked briefly taken aback. "They..." He paused and suddenly seemed to realize what she was asking. "...went looking for land and treasure so that success could fill empty bellies and tired backs."

"Precisely." Nomi looked up and down the table. "One possibility that we must consider is that the Grand Admiral wished to encourage us to remain close at hand for an extended period of time so that he could make his plans. We obviously come from a wealthy place if we can build such large ships and clearly are within range of their superluminal technology. Wars are built upon excuses whenever possible and we have struck the first blow although he can only suspect that. However, the Kaa does not seem to bother himself with evidence and it is he who can unleash war."

"Captain Rousseau... do you propose that we report to SAFC that we may have inadvertently started a war with a multiple-system Empire before we can actually confirm that they have the capacity to wage such a war?" Shadow asked.

"I propose that we convey the substance of Major Jenkins' outburst to SAFC along with your report on the infiltration mission." Nomi replied calmly. "Although, of course, with the caveat that we have no means of actually determining their military strength, the disposition of their fleets, the weapons technology they have access to, or the state of their superluminal range."

"If I may interject something else, it is possible that we can rectify our lack of knowledge." Sera offered. "Ampris made a very brief mention of them but apparently, there are something called the Royal Archives in which the Viis keep a copy of what she termed 'all things.' It seems possible, given the state of their data storage technology, that they have an archive roughly comparable to the one administered by BSY Core Gaia back on Earth."

"Surely you're not suggesting that we try to break into the Kaa's palace with an infiltration team." Jenkins snorted.

"Of course not." Sera scoffed. "There is no reason to."

"We just need to ask." Shadow grinned. "I think I see where you're going with this, General."

"Are the two of you completely out of your minds?" Jenkins gaped. "You just committed an act of war and you want to march into the claws of the Kaa to ask to look at some books?"

"Oh, no." Shadow set her face in a look of exaggerated seriousness. "We thought we could trade a male harem slave for it. Say, you look exotic, Major."

The riposte garnered snickers around the table as Jenkins glared and leaned back in his seat. Still grinning, Nomi looked over at Shadow. "All joking aside, Admiral, it does not seem particularly wise to arrange another in-person diplomatic initiative. The Kaa seems temperamental and I do not believe that this time, the Grand Admiral will feel like stepping in to head off an 'off with their heads' order."

"That's why we act quickly." Sera replied. "The essence of military strategy is getting inside the decision cycle. The Viis necessarily have a top-down system which means information must filter to the top and them back down again. If we move while they are still trying to find answers, still trying to prove what they suspect but cannot know, we'll have forced them to start all over trying to react to the new information and situation."

"We cannot hope to catch the Grand Admiral completely off his game." Shadow added. "We can, however, catch him before he has a trump card to play and the more time we give him, the more likely it is that he can prove our complicity in what seems to be a freak accident. At that point, we'll have to blast our way to the archives instead of simply induce him to throw another pawn away to further his own goals."

"Given how you describe his clever use of information, Admiral, are you certain that the Royal Archives would be a pawn in his eyes?" Andropoli frowned. "Only one who is unfamiliar with war would ever allow an enemy to lay hands on such vital information as a compendium of technical resources."

"A fair point, Commodore." Dr. Campbell interjected softly. "I believe that I may be of some use. Certainly, the Grand Admiral would not wish the admiral to learn the secrets of the Viis. But what if it was a harmless little astrophysicist? You yourself have said, Commodore, that I look like someone you could snap in half by glaring and while I am not nearly that harmless, I certainly appear to be that harmless."

"I think we are getting too wrapped up in theories, commanders." Shadow held up a paw. "Can we agree that time allows the Grand Admiral to accumulate proof of what he suspects and that giving him that time would be counterproductive?"

"Yes." Nomi nodded.

"I can agree to that." Andropoli inclined his head once.

"Good." Shadow smiled. "Then it seems like the best course of action is to innovate as we go. Request an audience with the Kaa so that we may properly express our regrets at the loss of the laboratory and spring what we represent as Dr. Campbell's request at the last moment. From there, we play it by ear, making a hell-in-a-handbasket extraction plan but otherwise leaving it open. It is even possible that enough flexibility will let us outmaneuver the Grand Admiral."

"But we'd be on borrowed time." Sera added. "However we get in, we would have to quickly obtain everything we can lay hands on and leave before the Grand Admiral has decided on a course of action. After we have this information, our mission is effectively accomplished since with the possession of most, if not all, of the Viis' own records, we'll have gained the intelligence SAFC sent us for. From there, they can figure out what to do."

"And for that, General, we'd need whatever the only person in our task force who knows anything about this archives can tell us." Shadow's eyes twinkled. "I hate to burden you with the onerous task of lounging around with a pretty girl and sipping tea..."

"Alas, I shall have to endure." Sera responded, striking an exaggerated playful tone to match her friend's.

"I believe you mentioned some 'Royal Archives' in our last conversation, Ampris." Sera commented after a slow sip of the savory mint tea. "I don't suppose you know anything specific about them...?"

Ampris just chuckled, a mildly barking sound with a subtle purr to it. She brought her tea cup to her lips and sipped it with a sigh of enjoyment before looking across the rim at Sera. "I see that your purpose in inviting me is finally revealed, Serafine." She smiled. "And I had thought you were simply checking up on me."

"I would ask after your cubs but I am told that they are as lively as cubs can be." Sera smiled back. "May I ask how you became pregnant while imprisoned in a research laboratory?"

"A Viis experiment." Ampris replied. "I was an extremely rare opportunity, a young female of good physical health starting the prime of her years of fertility. The Dancing Death kills only the Viis so I was made pregnant with the seed of the Viis. I do not understand how it is possible for the Viis and the aaroun are very different but their goal was to experiment upon the cubs, trying to infect them and examine the progression of the death."

"How did you know what they planned to do?" Sera looked curiously at her.

"I was told." Ampris shrugged. "I could tell no one and Viis enjoy gloating in the faces of those that cannot strike them. The director attended personally to see to the beginning of the experiment; normally, he does not deign to sully himself."

"I gathered as much." Sera snorted out a short laugh. "But we have wandered away from my original question: can you tell me anything specific about the Royal Archives?"

"They are looked after by a race called the Myal." Ampris told her. "They are certainly slaves but in a different way than others. They certainly may do nothing without the permission of their owner but they are generally ignored because they are so harmless."

"I'd think that turning your back on a species that you have enslaved would be unwise." Sera commented with a hint of a questioning tone.

"It is." Ampris showed her teeth a little with her grin. "But the harm the Myal are able to do is very subtle and not physical. They are small creatures, a little taller than the zhrelli, and are very soft-spoken with their heads in the clouds. Their culture was formed around knowledge and poetry with such an emphasis on both that it is rumored that they were known to continue studiously sorting and filing tomes while battle raged around them. As keepers of the knowledge of the Viis, they can do damage far beyond anything that I or the other slave people can do but their harm is invisible unless you are very intelligent."

"Like the Grand Admiral?"

Ampris smiled but there was a sadness to it. "He is not, by nature, as cruel as most but he is as brutal with a Myal caught doing their subtle damage as he would be if someone had attempted to murder the Kaa. Sometimes, I have wondered to myself if he considers the Royal Archives to be more important than the Kaa."

Sera grimaced. "This is going to make it much harder to get access then." She sighed. "We had hoped to surprise him with the request but if he is so sensitive about the Archives..."

"It is hard to know." Ampris replied mildly. "He is sensitive about losing the Archives but he may not be so enraged by someone using them. I only knew him vaguely when I was young and have only pieced together other things from rumor. One of the more interesting rumors that I heard was that he dislikes gladiator contests although whether this is due to discomfort at being around the common people or actual revulsion at the contests is just speculation."

"We found him an interesting person." Sera told the aaroun. "I was surprised that he speaks your slave dialect flawlessly."

"Many Viis nobles are very adept." Ampris nodded. "A mechanism for survival, I think, because they cannot destroy a large enough rebellion if one was launched."

"You'll forgive me for saying this but I can't quite imagine any of the species I've met so far being especially dangerous." Sera replied. "Except for your own, of course. Perhaps the Kelth as well but the other two seem fairly small and helpless."

"Slaves aren't the only ones who'd be part of a revolt." Ampris chuckled. "Genetic errors are not always fatal and the Viis are revolted by what they regard as ugly, not even regarding such unfortunates as Viis."

"The rejects." Sera suddenly recalled the short conversation with the freighter captain two months ago. "Deformed Viis. So these rejects may also be part of any rebellion too?"

"They see themselves as Viis and are insulted that other Viis do not agree." Ampris shook her head ruefully. "Yet despite being rejected, they look down on albiru as mere slaves although they are less able to act on their beliefs because of their powerlessness."

"Racism goes deep, I suppose."

"Racism?" Ampris looked curiously at her. "That word isn't familiar to me."

"I guess the better word would be speciesism." Sera replied thoughtfully. "Essentially, it means assuming a certain set of things about someone based upon a certain characteristic... their species, in this case. In our own history, racism was focused around a concept called 'race' which generally amounted to skin color. It was a thoroughly shameful portion of our history but died its long-awaited death in the 21st century. I mean, there is always going to be a problem of minor biases based on stupid things but it might as well be dead for how little it matters."

"I'm not sure your word... speciesism... would really mean much." Ampris answered after a moment. "It is not really the case that the Viis assume things based on our species except that all who are not Viis are lesser than they are. They think little of the merchant race called the Gorlicans but they do not regard them as stupid beasts. They think of slaves as stupid beasts because we are slaves. If we were not slaves, they would sneer at us but not regard us as stupid beasts."

"They conquered you and took you as slaves so you are worthless." Sera summarized. "More a superiority complex than speciesism."

"Superiority...?"

"Never mind." Sera smiled. "It isn't important. So these Gorlicans... they are merchants?"

"The Viis trade with them and do not take them for slaves." Ampris sipped her tea. "They regard them as repulsive and thus demand that they mask their faces. But I know nothing more about them."

"Are the Gorlicans the only trade race?" Sera inquired. "It would seem that a large empire would have more people to trade with than just one... unless, of course, they've dominated all the people they can find except for the one. I wonder why these Gorlicans were spared."

"I wouldn't know." Ampris shrugged. "I am afraid that I know very little about the affairs of the Viis Empire except for what I have learned by what I have seen."

"General Wilson?" Sera sighed but almost chuckled as the voice of the Security technician came through the com unit next to her door.

"I'm here, Security. Why do you need to ruin my relaxation this time?" She inquired laconically.

"It's best that I don't actually read the message the Admiral gave me." Security sounded like she was trying hard not to laugh. "Suffice it to say, she wants you to join her in the captain's situation room as soon as you can."

"That's OK, Security... I can imagine what she said." Sera grinned. "I'll be right up."

"The price of being important, I suppose." Ampris smiled sympathetically. "I had hoped that our conversation could have been longer, Serafine, for you are pleasant company."

"As are you, Ampris." Sera smiled back, standing. "Do you need anything before I go?"

"Perhaps another muzzle-touch?" Ampris asked with a teasing look.

"I think the kiss can wait." Sera chuckled, extending her paw to the aaroun who grasped it firmly.

"Perhaps it can at that." Ampris agreed. "I await our next meeting, General. Good luck to you."

Despite the difference in names, the situation room wasn't much different than the conference room aboard the Executor except for its smaller size. Given that fewer people could fit in it comfortably, Sera wasn't surprised that Andropoli and Dr. Campbell were missing; what surprised, and mildly delighted, her was that Jenkins seemed to be missing as well. One look at her friend, however, somewhat dampened her spirits: Shadow was more tense then usual, her tail twitching with agitation and her jaw set in a hard line. A small smile eased her apparent tension when she saw Sera standing there.

"Hey Sera." She gestured to one of the chairs. "Please, take a seat."

"Are you alright, Shadow?" Sera inquired as she took the proffered seat. "You look pretty out-of-sorts for someone who was bantering with me only an hour ago."

"Me and the captain just completed a very frustrating and unpleasant discussion with Major Obsydien." Shadow sighed as she slumped into a chair. "Not unpleasant because of her... even when she's in that damned emotionless mask mode of hers, she's a pleasant person... but because I was obligated to reprimand her without solid proof and for something that doesn't actually upset me."

"Is this connected to the fact that Jenkins isn't here?" Sera raised an eyebrow at the decidedly unhappy-looking wolven at the head of the table.

"He's getting put back together in the medical section." Nomi replied before Shadow could although she looked more irritated than tense. "Damned fool, shooting his idiot mouth off in earshot of someone who's already itching to beat the stupid out of him."

"Captain, we do not know for sure what happened." Shadow admonished her mildly.

"We know damn well what happened, Admiral, even if we can neither prove it nor get anyone to admit it." Nomi snorted. "You don't get into SpecOps and get trained to kill fifty different ways with a pinky finger if you're prone to temper tantrums."

"I don't suppose either of you could tell me what happened?" Sera asked a little tentatively.

"We have the story from Major Obsydien and all the soldiers observing and then we have what is probably the truth." Shadow managed a smirk. "Captain Nomi here was taking a break from the bridge when she hears a fight in the mess hall. She goes to break it up and finds out that it's more akin to Major Obsydien hammering the deck with Jenkins' face."

"After I get the idiot sent to the medical section, I get every single soldier in that mess hall telling me, with a straight face, that Jenkins responded to Akeya taunting him by throwing the first punch." Nomi snorted. "It's clear they somehow decided what the story would be because they just love Jenkins so much but we actually have to have proof to give a SpecOps even the mildest reprimand."

"So she and the rest fed you a story that they knew you'd have to swallow because you had no other choice but was utterly absurd." Sera summarized. "So what do you think actually happened?"

"The other way around." Shadow responded. "Jenkins knows how to push buttons and you saw what she did the last time he pressed hers. You'd think he'd know how dangerous it would be to provoke her further but Jenkins doesn't seem really great at being smart."

"Jenkins is good at surviving, however." Nomi pointed out. "Which is why I don't think he was directing comments at her. He was probably mouthing off and didn't notice her until he said something that made her so angry that she decided to teach him a lesson. Given that he had to practically call her an 'it' before she lashed out the first time, I'm not sure I want to know what he said this time."

"Whatever it was, it seems that if Akeya hadn't been doing a good job, the rest of the room would have stepped in to help her hurt him." Shadow shook her head. "I knew this sort of thing would eventually happen with an ass like Jenkins strutting around in close proximity to someone who doesn't fear the consequences of beating him senseless."

"How bad's the damage?" Sera asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know.

"All but one rib broken, a punctured lung, severe kidney trauma, a majority of the frontal bones of his skull shattered, an actual crack in his sternum, shattered femur, broken shin, dislocated left shoulder, torn cuff in the right shoulder..." Nomi stopped for a moment and her lips compressed. "...and shattered upper-back vertebrae. I have no idea how it is that someone with such catastrophic trauma was still alive and I have no doubt that if I'd arrived much later, he wouldn't have been. The worst part is... I got the distinct feeling that she was carefully avoiding injuring him severely enough to outright kill him."

"Like... she was torturing him?" Sera's brow furrowed.

"No." Shadow replied emphatically. "She was not torturing him, just hurting him until he could be attended by a medic. It's... a technique used by the SpecOps to incapacitate and control a high-value asset in the absence of tools like sedatives or restraints."

"I think, Admiral, that the damage she did was far too severe to have been an improvised restraint technique." Nomi pointed out. "The harm she was doing was borderline fatal."

Sera was surprised when Shadow opened her mouth to reply but shut it again and leaned back in her seat thoughtfully. "Yes it was... yet he is still alive and the medics do not estimate lasting harm..." She murmured. "Well, we'll have to return to the issue later. For now, Akeya is dealt with and Jenkins is temporarily out of action. Now I can give the both of you some good news."

Sera blinked at the abruptness with which Shadow put aside the topic but before she could give her friend a look, Shadow stood and turned away, pulling out the control tray from under the projection screen set against the wall nearest her. With a few tapped buttons, the screen lit up and Shadow turned back to them both.

"As you both probably know, I've been giving SAFC relatively regular updates about our findings, actions, and the various challenges we've faced." She told them. "They were... less than wildly overjoyed to hear about what it took to get the contents of that laboratory computer and the humint even now being gleaned from interviews. However, they're very pleased with the intelligence itself and want to ensure that we'll be able to stay here safely and continue gathering it. To this end, they are going to expand our survey force to a genuine carrier battle group."

She turned and pressed one of the lit buttons that had been flashing, displaying the image of a ship that Sera instantly recognized as a Wyvern-class escort carrier, one that had been visibly refitted with additional weapon batteries.

"Yamato Banner!" Nomi grinned. "I'd recognize her anywhere! She's been the command ship of Jovian Fleet for ages... veteran crew, one of the finer carrier captains in SAFN. They're planning to include her in our battle group?"

"Her and her organic strike group." Shadow confirmed, smiling at Nomi's visible happiness. "Two Sullivan-class frigates, two Stryker-class, and the Delphi-II Cassandra. SAFC is also considering stripping out Line Delta from Ares Fleet, giving us the Manticore battleships Scylla Seven and Phyrrus' Lament and the Redux-class Hammer of Dawn."

Sera was stunned and saw the same reaction on Nomi's face: SAFC was considering putting some incredibly heavy firepower in their hands just for the purpose of ensuring they could complete an information-gathering mission. "What the hell did you tell them, Shadow?" She gaped at her friend.

"The facts." Shadow replied calmly albeit with the slightest twitch at the corners of her muzzle. "I was just as surprised as you are, Sera, because the extra firepower sort of makes it seem as if this mission is more important than I thought. Sort of explains the ease in procuring exceptional talent, now that I think about it."

"Please, Shadow... be serious." Sera sighed. "You can't really expect us to believe that you told them about a minor dustup on the surface, told them that not a single ship of the Viis fleets is in evidence, and they decided to send you an escort carrier with a battlecarrier refit, its organic strike group, an enhanced battle control cruiser, and three battleships two of which are equipped with spinal matter drivers. What's going on, Shadow?"

"I told them everything I know... which is more than you do." Shadow replied with a little smirk. "While you've been cuddling with Ampris, some of us have been working."

"Some of us more than others." Nomi rolled her eyes. "Look.. I know you two are friends and enjoy banter but we've sort of bypassed the stage where we tell knock-knock jokes. The Admiral has just announced that we're going to get upgraded to a battle group running around with firepower comparable to a full section of Venus Fleet... just to finish a survey mission. This sort of requires a serious explanation."

"Sorry, Captain." Shadow looked genuinely contrite. "Just in the last hour, I've been pouring over reports from the first round of interrogations with the Viis science minister and that zhrelli engineer. It's just like you told me, Sera... he's not holding anything back but is getting increasingly confused about why we find his information important. Clearly, he has no military background if he cannot fully appreciate the value of the general numbers and dispositions of the Viis Imperial Fleet."

"I'm surprised he would know that, actually." Sera admitted. "He gave the impression of being low enough on the totem pole that he wouldn't get access to important information outside his station."

"First thing to remember about an imperial court: the more secrets and facts you accumulate, even if you don't know what they mean, the more power you have." Shadow chuckled. "He regards the Grand Admiral as his primary obstacle to power and has done all he can to find out all the secrets that his rival holds. I get the funny feeling that the Grand Admiral doesn't mind the science minister knowing about fleet dispositions, seeing as how he could do nothing with them. Obviously, that the science minister would be captured by a completely unanticipated foe from parts unknown never occurred to him. Anyway, even in very general numbers, the Viis fleets are massive. Most of their empire is empty space, most of that being space that only became empty after its previous owners were extinguished. They have very large fleets to keep all of these colonized worlds under firm control which may account for why none of them are at home: the homeworld isn't going to revolt so the fleets were sent off to either crush a revolt or suppress potential rumblings. In fact, according to the engineer, they suffered a significant revolt in the Outer Colonies shortly before we arrived and the Grand Admiral himself was preparing to join their forces when we appeared and he made other plans."

"So their fleets may actually be locked down in suppressing the revolt?" Sera inquired hopefully.

"I wish, but no such luck." Shadow sighed. "According to the science minister, confronting us is now considered their top priority so appealing to the patriotism of the colonists, convincing them to make a truce so that the fleets can return and save the Empire from invaders, cannot be totally ruled out. If even a fraction of their fleets return, a 3-ship task force would be seriously outgunned, enough so that establishing a lock with the 'ripple gate' and pulling us back may take more time than it'd take for the reinforcements to grab us in extremely heavy engagement. Dr. Campbell tells me that without knowing the precise nature of their weaponry, she can make no guarantees about the ability of the gate to lock on and bring us back if we're in the middle of being attacked. Thus, SAFC decided to shore up our assets in the area."

"SAFC places pretty quite a bit of importance on getting a good look at a defunct empire that may or may not be able to bother us." Nomi observed. "This smells like 'advice' from the USC. They're infinitely better than they could be but they're still politicians."

"The political aspect is always there, Captain. You know that." Shadow chided her. "When you ultimately obey the elected representatives of the general population, the entire dimension of keeping a functioning government that can direct the military forces without having to constantly look over their shoulders is entered into the equation. Big bad one-quarter-of-the-world's-industry-at-the-time America is an excellent example of what happens when you forget that the morale of the democracy is important too."

"They're also an example of what happens if you can't tell the difference between nice-to-have and must-have." Nomi added amusedly. "Seriously... fight a guerilla war with main battle tanks instead of lounge around a chokepoint and whack whatever gets in range?"

Shadow snorted. "Anyway, yes, the USC is driving strategic policy, at least somewhat. We struck palladium though... the USC as a whole decided to hand it over to EFWAC and a select subcommittee so at least we're working with a streamlined command structure."

"Extraordinary Forces and Weaponry Advisory Committee?" Sera blinked. "Don't they usually only get directly involved when there's an issue with mass-destructive weaponry or the SpecOps?"

"Usually." Shadow admitted. "But if you're on EFWAC, you're holding some really big political IOUs in your back pocket which is probably why we got put under their purview. All the better for us, really... if you're going to be involved in politics, direct access to veterans is a nice perk."

"There is that." Sera agreed. "Did the interrogations yield anything else?"

"Quite a bit but none of it immediately relevant." Shadow replied. "What about your conversation with Ampris?"

"The Archives are very extensive and the Grand Admiral prizes them highly, possibly more than he prizes the life of the Kaa." Sera reported. "Apparently, they are administered by a race of slaves called the Myal who have a cultural affinity for knowledge and poetry. Largely, the Viis seem to leave them alone and they, in turn, wage some sort of low-level misinformation war. My feel off of Ampris' statements was that playing data games with the Viis is generally very low-risk for them but became more dangerous when the Grand Admiral came to power and started making examples of any Myal who tried to play games with him."

"Interesting..." Shadow tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Did she, by chance, mention how it is he's unusually fluent in the slave dialect?"

"She says it's typical of Viis nobility." Sera answered. "Yet... I think there must be more to it. The science director would naturally be at least somewhat formally educated to have any place at all directing science and while he can speak and understand with apparent ease, it's nothing like the effortless fluency of the Grand Admiral."

"A mystery for another time." Nomi tapped a claw idly on the table's surface, jumping in before Shadow could say anything. "Did Ampris offer any other information that may be useful in our last shot at playing diplomat?"

"A variety of things, really. I don't know if any of them would do us any good right now. How did you say it, Shadow? None of it immediately relevant?"

"That's about right, yes." Shadow agreed. "Well, it seems as if we'll get some sort of help obtaining the most relevant information if we can only get access to these archives. The problem, of course, is that we have the Kaa who is pretty much omnipotent as far as the Viis government is concerned and his trusted advisor who may not be all-powerful but is as close to all-knowing as any Viis we've encountered or heard of. The incoming reinforcements open our options somewhat, making it less important that the Kaa and Grand Admiral be unconditionally willing to let us have a look-see."

"It seems, Admiral, that confrontation is unavoidable." Nomi stated bluntly. "We either wait and let the Grand Admiral devise various means of punishing us or we go straight in and disrupt things with a little diplomacy play. Yanno, shake hands while keeping a tight grip on the knives we're both holding behind our backs. Contingency is pretty simple but who should actually be in our diplomatic party?"

"Me, Serafine, Dr. Campbell, and Major Obsydien are definitely going." Shadow responded immediately. "Me and Sera just because. Akeya because the Viis are scared of her. Dr. Campbell because it's all pointless without her on hand to tell these Myal what we need."

"Obviously, our self-appointed xenodiplomat isn't going anywhere." Sera added. "I think that Akeya should pick out the security detail but I'm going to strongly recommend Captain Prower and Sergeant Morris be included. We need a medic and I was impressed with Captain Prower's competence in being able to make several relevant diagnostic observations with a relatively cursory examination. He indicated significant civilian experience in trauma medicine and his performance in the field fully displayed that experience. While not strictly required, I believe that a combat engineer would be useful if we need to improvise barriers or seal off a pursuit. I must admit, also... 20 years of service strongly appeals to me when we're going to be in a fluid and dangerous situation. Thus why I think Sergeant Morris would be an ideal component of the security detachment."

"Then give the recommendations to Major Obsydien." Shadow nodded. "I agree that Captain Prower and Sergeant Morris would be good team components for this little excursion. So can either of you think of anything else?"

"Did SAFC give you a timeline on the reinforcements?" Nomi inquired. "I'd feel so much better about all of this if they arrived as we were heading down or shortly after we arrived. Even if they don't send Line Delta, an escort carrier and her strike group are a pretty big stick to wave around. Especially an escort carrier with a battlecarrier refit."

"It depends upon how the orders grind, at least according to my contact." Shadow shrugged. "SAFC could ask permission, have it ruminated on for a long while, and finally get permission before cutting the orders. Or EFWAC could tell them to send the ships along while they wait to officially sanction it. I get the impression that things are going to go quickly along but there's no way to know for sure."

"Wonderful." Nomi sighed. "Well, it looks as if you're going into the lion's den with the lion already licking her chops... and all you have is a stick."

"If by 'stick', you mean that crazy modular rifle that Akeya wanders around with, yeah, we've got a stick." Sera responded with a grin. "And a very big man with more boom in his backpack than he'll know what to do with. Oh, and a medic who'll probably insist on hauling in his Chicago typewriter with extra ink. Both of whom, by the way, got stolen from SAF's most elite corp. Heck, maybe someone will even bring a Maxim... that'd really get the party started."

Nomi laughed. "OK, General, point taken." She acknowledged. "If I may, I think it'd be wise to also take an extra crank radio so the big guns are at your beck and call. Doesn't do you much good if we're sitting up here polishing the gun barrels when you need us to start cratering the Kaa's palace."

"There's always that." Sera acknowledged. "If there's nothing else, I'll go gather Akeya and the rest. She in lockup?"

"Naw." Shadow shook her head. "There was no real reason to. I think she'll be up in the barracks giving your boys rifle envy."

"I'll see you on the rock, Shadow." Sera stood.

"I'll be waiting, Sera." Shadow replied warmly.