The younglings had all been gathered in the courtyard of the university for the first time in many generations. It was a pleasant sight to see them all out mingling among the shrubbery and statues scattered about the area. Twelve masters were also prowling the yard ensuring the activities of the group remained uneventful. This was not only the first time the courtyard had been used in this manner, it was also the first time many of these students were meeting as each group had been kept separate from one another to ensure proper education in their individual cultures.

Down in the main square the group belonging to the Drow imperium was having their first interaction with the group form the dwarf confederacy. The tall limber Drow with their lanky limbs, ebony skin, glowing green eyes, sharply tipped ears and long flowing hair were a stark contrast to their new companions who were short in stature, large in muscle, and all had short youthful beards. The two groups seemed to be sizing one another up, using what each had learned of the others to provide proper, respectful greetings and trying to decide if thee other lived up to the reputation of their respective empires.

Similar scenes could be seen throughout the area with the children staying with their own groups, but simultaneously wandering and meeting each of these species which had been previously known to them only in their teachings. Throughout the courtyard peaceful contact was being made. One could easily see the Elven group making easy conversation with their counterparts from the Gith, the Centaurs meeting with the Vampyres, the Hobbit group was enjoying a game with their new friends from the race of the Dragons, and of course the Ents were eagerly trying to engage the Hydras in conversation. These were but a few of the meetings happening as the children from over 50 different species and galactic empires came together for the first time in their young lives.

Wandering through the crowds the twelve masters were each pleased to see how well the students were doing in their new engagements. Each of them proud of how peaceful their respective pupils were being, and even more proud that the lessons they had taught had allowed the younglings to overcome the various hostilities which their elders had known throughout their lives. Hostilities which in some cases had lead to the near total decimation of entire species of sentient beings.

The young were allowed to wander and conduct introductions throughout the day. They had first been let out into the courtyard at dawn and were encouraged to form relations with one another until the Elders called them together at dusk. They had enjoyed both breakfast and lunch in the wondrous area prepared for them. Unfortunately as all things must the peaceful day was nearly over and the Elders were about to call them to the coliseum to fulfill the purpose of the gathering. An hour prior to dusk The Elders appeared and began meandering through the throng of the young. Silent and observant they could be seen nodding with approval at the friendships which had been made this day. They seemed especially pleased that by this point in the day the groups in the area seemed to be formed around similar interests and talents, rather than species. The group of elders was ecstatic to see that a few interspecies romantic relations had also been formed.

At dusk the Elders stopped their meandering and gathered at the central fountain. They began to chant in twelve distinct voices each tuned to a different part of the musical spectrum. Together they launched into a melody which instantly gained the attention of all that had been gathered. The notes which they intoned pulled at the spirits of all in a deeply primal and instinctive level. Without thought the collective group stood and followed The Elders down the mountainous path leading to the giant coliseum which had recently been erected for tonight’s event. The Elders continued to chant until all the attendees had been seated and there was no remaining space to be filled. At this point the Masters who had been with the students throughout the day emerged from the group they had been watching over and made their way to the area surrounding the stage upon which the Elders sang. Each brought to the circle bundles of dried lumber brought here from each of the planets which had students in attendance tonight. Many trips were made to fill the area surrounding the stage until the ground could no longer be seen. The masters than appeared before the gathered lumber one more time, each at equidistant points from one another and each carrying a blazing torch. Here they stopped and waited …..

The Elders began to change the tone of their song. From primal spiritual it soared into something that was greatly energetic and reminiscent of a battle chant. During the transition the balance of their voices also shifted from the higher voices leading with the deeper ones as background to now having the deeper more resonant notes leading the call with the higher tones receding to the role of background. The new vocal dynamic was staggering as the notes reverberated off the walls of the great construct they were in and doubled the volume of the music. This change was clearly meant to invoke passion in its audience and those gathered were reacting to the energy they felt all around them.

The great song continued for nearly an hour, uninterrupted as it evolved and changed. Suddenly the great song ceased and the audience was bathed in a profound silence, left longing for more. At this time the Masters held their torches aloft and began a chant of their own, much more energetic and guttural than anything The Elders had vocalized thus far. The masters’ song had a completely different feel to it and seemed to be the introduction to something much more powerful. Just as the youth were becoming accustomed to the new tune it shifted once again as the masters each drew bladed weapons the youth had not realized they were carrying and began to dance to the rhythm of their music. This was hypnotizing to watch as each seemed to be having a battle with an invisible foe, brandishing both their weapons and their torches in mock combat with the empty air around them.

The music continued to grow louder and the actions of the masters became more and more ceremonial as the volume of their song grew. Many of the students found themselves throwing their voices into the night, joining the masters in song. At this point the masters began rotating around the circle, continuing to dance to the tune they were producing. They completed a full rotation around the great ring of lumber and returned to the positions from which they started. Once this was completed both the weapons and the torches were thrust into the air as the song abruptly ended and the masters went silent having reached the end of their demonstration. They stood frozen in place waiting for the next stage to begin.

The Elders stepped forward to the edges of the central stage and slowly, ceremonially raised their limbs far above their heads, than froze themselves as something unexpected occurred. From the audience several voices had arisen as the students from the Drow Imperium, the Dwarves Confederacy, and the Draconian Union had all begun to sing their own imperial anthems. As the students gathered heard and recognized what they were hearing they each joined in with the anthems of their own respective empires. The night air was suddenly alive with thousands of voices singing at once. Until that moment none had ever heard all the galactic anthems sang in unison before, this was truly a night of wonders. Unexpected though it was The Elders were pleased at the new addition to the nights tone, they continued to hold their hands in the air waiting for the new songs to end.

As the crescendo of voices in the gathering began to dwindle The Elders each made eye contact with the masters standing across from them and gave a nod of their heads. The Elders and the masters all continued to hold their limbs aloft, but each offered one single, unified note to the final verse of the final anthem. As a group they dropped their arms at the silence following the final note. In the masters cases as their arms dropped they flung their torches into the lumber they had gathered around the stage. From around the coliseum the audience cheered as twelve points of fire raced around the dried lumber, quickly gathering into one. Finally the entire stage was lit from below by a bright light from the great bonfire which had been erected. The moment the entire circle had been lit the twelve masters ran to the edge of the flames and in unison leapt into the air, in a feat which met with resounding applause, the twelve performed a choreographed twist in midair and each landed directly behind an Elder. Upon landing each performed a stunning feat and with the grace of elemental spirits spun in place lowering themselves to a kneeling position as they turned and landed with a resounding crack as each took one knee with their arms held aloft and head lowered. Here they remained through the remainder of the eve, never moving.

The night was now silenced. The only sound which could be heard was the satisfying crackle of the great fire. The silence was deafening compared to the series of vocalizations which had thus far marked the evening. Deafening, and unnerving.

All audience members shifted their visual focus back to The Elders in eager anticipation of what would happen next. They did not have to wait long as The Elders took their final step forward. Now standing on the lip of the stage with the conflagration burning hungrily beneath them they each held out their appendages and let handfuls of dust fall from their hands into the dancing flames. Instantly the fire shifted from its natural color to a blinding bright blue. In the same instant that the fire shifted in color the Elders began speaking. They spoke as one, their voices melding together and their intonations perfectly matched. The purpose of the gathering was finally revealed.

You have been gathered here tonight for a reason. For the great majority of you this is the first time you have seen a member of any other species beyond your own, and this is regrettable, but necessary. Tonight we celebrate our existence as well as grieve for the trillions which have been lost. None among you has ever been to or seen the home worlds of your respective races. None among you has ever left the confines of this great construct in which we reside. All that you know has been taught to you by the masters gathered here behind us. They have collectively done excellent jobs at not only imparting you with the knowledge, culture and heritage of your respective peoples, but have also tempered those teaching with compassion and understanding for those unlike yourselves. The hope was that you would be able to honor the memory of your peoples while moving beyond the bigotry and hatred which marked history throughout this galaxy. The first purpose of tonight’s gathering was to test you, to see if a true communion between the races could be achieved and we are pleased to announce that this was a rousing success. You should all be proud. In one single day you have achieved a level of peace and cooperation that your peoples took centuries to accomplish.

This, however, was not the only reason for bringing you all together this night. As stated previously tonight we celebrate life. The music which we have shared with you this evening was presented to you in an ancient tongue which you have not been taught. In the language of the ancient Elementals this song was designed to illustrate the amazing wonders and beauty inherent in life. Ass with life itself the song of life is ever changing and growing, constantly evolving as life takes us on our journeys. The path may not always be clear, however life continues to move forward, marching along mercilessly to its inevitable conclusion. For this reason we must always remember to show our appreciation for the existence we lead and the chance we have been given to experience the grandeur of our universe.

Unfortunately, there is one final reason we have gathered this eve. The most vital reason of all. We have gathered to mourn. In recent history a calamity claimed the lives of trillions. This catastrophe also lead to the fall of entire civilizations, the extinction of entire species, and the destruction of whole solar systems. This series of events has not been told to any of you prior to tonight. It was kept from you to in an effort to ensure your educations were not shadowed by knowledge you could not yet bear, as well as prevent you from spending your formative years in deep shadow while you plotted vengeance upon those responsible. The truth we have kept from you till this point will be revealed this night. The end result of the cataclysm which swept through this corner of the universe is this construct in which we all reside. Codename Valhalla. The truth which we unveil this night will explain the purpose behind this environment as well as explain how all of you came to be here. I must caution you all before we begin, however that the final reason why we withheld this from you till now is that as a result of these events, many of you are now the only living members of your species. This is the main reason behind keeping you segregated, to try our best to preserve the integrity of your individual histories.

Those you see on stage this night, the masters behind us with heads bowed, as well as each of The Elders were present during the events we are about to describe. We each played our role to the best of our abilities and were each either punished, or awarded, by our governments by being given a position here and being entrusted with bringing thee generation before us now to adulthood. At the end of this telling we will offer ourselves to your judgment. Should you deem that we have failed at our task we will voluntarily leap into the blaze at our feet as punishment for our failure! Throughout the telling we will each remove our hoods as the events which brought us here are unveiled so that you may understand us, and the burdens we bear.

Our story will begin with a program written into the mainframes of every computer throughout the galaxy:

For uncounted millennia the peoples of this galaxy existed in a continuous state of battle with one another. Empires collided across the stars, armies thundered and battles raged. Not one corner or race was able to escape unscathed, forever altered by the wars in which they engaged with one another. One century ago one such battle was waged which ended in the utter annihilation of, not one, but three great races. The Titans, the Angels, and the Daemons, were each completely destroyed in the battle of Faerun. This great battle ended in the warring parties each launching their most powerful and devastating weapons, which upon collision with one another, had a most unexpected outcome. The three weapons together had the combined explosive force of three dozen supernova. The initial explosion destroyed the warring planets instantly, and the resulting shockwave decimated the entire region of space the war was centered upon. Fourteen solar systems were torn from existence as a result of that explosion and all three warring races were rendered extinct.

This event forced the remaining galactic powers to realize that change was required. A remote planet in a solar system removed from the galaxy was chosen for an emergency meeting of the heads of state for each government capable of interstellar travel. At this meeting it was decided that the only way to ensure survival was for universal disarmament. It was also proposed and approved unanimously that a collective should be formed. A collective which encompassed the entire galaxy. A unified government. From this initial meeting the Great Phoenix Collective was formed. This collective served to build a future free of prejudice and filled with compassion and unity previously unseen.

It was not long before it became clear that not all races were willing to move beyond the ancestral hatreds and animosity they had for one another and that to continue along this path would eventually lead to one or more species becoming involved in new wars. A second outcome similar to that seen at the battle of Faerun was inevitable. To this end a new solution was devised – Project Salvation- once which would insure that future generations would be able to embrace peace and build a galactic civilization which could be maintained indefinitely. The goal of this project was to build three large Dyson Sphere Constructs, each of which would encompass a solar system which was uninhabited. The solar systems within each would be modified to allow for three habitable planets per system as well as having the outer shell of each sphere as a whole terraformed to allow for habitation by most bipedal races. Here within these spheres each the children of each race would grow and be educated with a greater respect and understanding for one another while also learning to honor their own cultures. Construction of these great pillars of hope began immediately.

Sixty years after the formation of the Phoenix Collective and only ten years into construction of the spheres of Project Salvation the galaxy was torn asunder. An invading force from beyond the Great Barrier began to tear a swath of destruction across the cosmos. System after system fell and star after star was destroyed. The regions of space belonging to the Faeries, the Ents, Lycanthropes, and finally the Sasquatch were wiped from the maps within the course of a fortnight. The rest of the Collective responded violently, viscously attacking and decimating the invading force, until nothing remained of the invaders ….. Or so we believed.

It was soon reveled that what we had believed to be the invading force was nothing more than the scouting party paving the way for the true enemy. An armada that outnumbered the collective five to one was discovered. This armada proved to be unstoppable. A further seven civilizations were destroyed before we were able to gain any momentum in our efforts to thwart them. We shall always remember the Frost Giants, Waspina, Starlings, Crustaceia, Wraith, Triptoids, and the Megalodons. It was finally the collective efforts of the Drow, Dwarves, and Dragons which brought the invaders march across our space to a standstill. However, this small victory is not a lasting one as at this moment the efforts of the defenders are being overcome. Even with the aid of the Elves, Centaurs and the Triceeratons which have recently joined the battle, it does not appear to be long before the invaders are marching across our space once again.

As a last precaution against total galactic extinction a new plan was enacted. One of the Spheres from Project Salvation was nearly completed, it was decided to turn this station into a lifeboat. Additional labor was poured into the Sphere to ensure it would be completed in a timely manner before the enemy could discover it. It was also enhance with further defensive and offensive capabilities including a phase shift to take it beyond the reach and detection of the outside universe. The sphere was named Valhalla in honor of the home world of the Angels, and it was to be the last, best hope of continued life in Phoenix.

This file has been loaded into the mainframe of every building, planet, vessel, base, and colony within the Phoenix Collective. If this file has been activated than this location has not been powered or inhabited for a minimum of ten years and it is hoped that anyone reading this will be able to learn the history of the special region in which you find yourself. It is assumed that the war has been lost and that the invaders have succeeded at destroying everything in their path. Their race, their place of origin, nor their motivation was ever discovered. A small portion of the technologies and weaponry at our disposal proved to be successful at hindering their march across the stars. Alas, a hindrance was the best we could muster as nothing proved effective enough to stop them, or force their retreat. Their ground forces were even more unresponsive to attack than their spacefaring vehicles. It is unknown if any of the empires or civilizations which formed our government was able to survive, however their remains the hope offered by Valhalla that not all will be lost.

The file which has just been shared with you has now been active on any surviving computers within the galactic graveyard for over two decades. It had been two and a half centuries since the formation of the Collective and this Sphere has been active for nearly eighty years. We have had no contact from anyone outside this Sphere in over thirty years. Only a year after losing contact with the outside we began seeing this message be activated at various stations. It is clear that the war was lost and that aside from a few pockets of survivors we are all that remains of our great society. There have been no new activations of this file in the past two decades which leads us to believe that any remaining survivors have abandoned hope and left for areas beyond the Great Barrier which may provide a chance of beginning anew. Alas there has been no evidence that the invaders were defeated, or that they have moved on. At the conclusion of tonight’s gathering, prior to your passing judgment upon us we will bring this sphere back into phase with normal space to do a detailed sensor sweep and determine the current state of affairs in what remains of our region of space. While coming into phase we will be vulnerable for a fraction of a second while our shields realign with reality. During this brief moment of vulnerability all external offensive weaponry will be active and manned in the extreme chance of our detection. We will now recount for you the events of the final battle between the invaders and the alliance of the defenders, which brought together vessels and tactics from five of the great races.

              SHE strode effortlessly down the corridor hand in hand with her partner.  The two had been in the midst of passionate intimacy when the call had come from the command center that their companion vessels had arrived ahead of schedule and were demanding an immediate audience with the ruler of Drow Imperium.  Slightly annoyed at the interruption she had responded that she would arrive on the command center as quickly as possible.  Once the com channel had been silenced she met the eyes of her partner, and as always found herself lost in the depths of the other woman’s soul.  Quickly stealing one last lingering kiss she let her hands explore her partners smooth back and come to rest upon her ass.  Grudgingly she had separated from the embrace and both women had gotten dressed.  One of the many disadvantages of ruling an entire civilization is that there is never any time for personal affection, a disadvantage they had both become accustomed to long ago.

                Both women were wearing traditional garb for the Head Mother and her consort of not only this one house within the Drow society, but also the ruling house within the Imperium.  Yeslek the current Head Mother was taller than the average for her race at a staggering seven feet in height.  Her height lent itself easily to a slender a gorgeous body with voluptuous curves in all the right areas.  The air of kindness which radiated from her was in itself simply another weapon she had at her disposal in addition to the countless blades and whips she carried on her body, she had long ago mastered the art of killing with kindness.  The long flowing navy blue hair wrapped itself around her shoulders and down her arms to keep it from getting caught during battle.  On her each of her fingers she wore a carefully curved and sharpened Black Mithril rings which with their diamond tips served to give her claws.  Upon her black cloak were the runes of her family’s power, each of which had earned one of her ancestors their seat at the head of the family as they had slowly throughout the centuries risen from the depths of the lowest city on Dhaero to their current position as the ruling family.  Her own rune of power was tattooed across her body with the crest showing on her forehead directly above her fiercely glowing green eyes.

                The two women moved swiftly through the ship, quickly navigating through the total darkness of their surroundings.  All ships within the Drow Imperium were designed with bioluminescent lichens positioned throughout the ship to allow visitors the ability to see the grandeur of the magnificent vessel they had been foolish enough to come aboard, however as the Drow society had been born deep within the underdark subterranean levels of their home world they had long ago lost the dependency on light which the rest of the universe relied upon.  Instead their visual receptors were tuned to the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums allowing them to see in environments which would render most blind, and of course they did still retain the ability to shift their eyes back to the traditional sight of lesser beings should the need arise.

                Winding their way through the bowels of the ship following the path which would lead them to the command center both women found themselves thinking of where they had been only a few short years ago.  Prior to the advent of the invaders Yeslek and her partner leira had been happy in their position within the house.  As partnered women they held a place of honor within the community.   In their branch of Drow society the women ruled and the men served only two purposes; procreation, and battle.  The first three sons of the Head Mother were allowed the privileges afforded them by attending military college and strategy training, however they were required to have their reproductive organs removed to prevent offspring who would try to usurp control of the house.  All other males however were raised by a group of paired men and women within the household.  It was within this group that the young men would be trained as warriors of their family.  They would also be graded on their worthiness to create offspring as well as being assigned to the woman with whom they would produce the strongest children.  The men were also encouraged and trained in the art of giving sexual pleasure to one another as they would each only be allowed to lie with a woman once every five years during the mating rituals.  In this group they had been the women in charge of making sure that all went as planned and the future troops of their family would be successful on the battlefield, earning their family both honor and power.

                Once they had arrived on the scene the women had become dissatisfied with the leadership from the current Head Mother who seemed to value retreat above battle.  The women had watched helplessly as legions of their sisters and brothers from both their house and others were slaughtered by the oncoming horde, and yet Yelrac continued to pull back until all the entire First armada of the Drow were hovering uselessly in orbit of Dhaero.  At this time the women realized that a change in leadership was necessary.  After performing the traditional prayer of power and permission from the deity Lolthe, Yeslek made her move and assassinated the Head Mother, and taking her place in leadership.   For the first time in history the ruling family was now lead by not one woman, but by a married pair.

                Upon taking control Yeslek first move was to reach swallow her pride and reach out to the other two splintered sects of Drow within the galaxy and forming a temporary alliance so that she they could collectively halt the horde which was coming for them all.  Together the three tips of the Imperium launched a brutal attack on the invaders and managed to destroy their leading force of thirty ships.  It was then that the trailing group of hundreds made itself apparent and the battle truly began.  Swiftly the invading forces had torn through the vessels of the defenders.  In a matter of moments what had once been a staggering display of unity on the Draw’s behalf was decimated into a few dozen capital ships and a few fighters.  Defeat was inevitable, until aid arrived from one of their oldest ancestral enemies.  The Dwarves swooped in with their massive ships and shifted the balance of power.  Together the two forces were able to bring the battle to a stalemate, both sides continued to fire volley after volley at one another, however neither side was able to gain momentum and claim victory.  Until the Draconians arrived and lead the charge to victory.   On that day the Drow had charged into battle and through their actions had shown the galaxy that the enemy could be defeated.   Today preparations had been made to repeat that action.

                As they approached the triple security doors to the bridge of her battleship, Yeslek and leira let their hands drop to their sides.  Stopping at the door they each placed their palms on one of the two identity readers at either side of the door.  Once the system verified their palm prints they were each required to vocalize their passcodes, recognizing the correct information the doors began to part to allow them access to the nerve center of the vessel.  Buried deep within the abdomen of the giant arachnid warship the bridge opened before them and they marched regally within.  Passing the many personnel stationed around the perimeter and outer circles of command center they were able to view many of the readouts presented on their crewwomen’s screens before making it to the central command post.  Yeslek, took her seat upon the ornately decorated throne while her wife leira stood just slightly behind and to her left in her own command station. 

                Once seated Yeslek demanded a report from her underlings, “Status of our vessel, the convoy, and our companions.”

                From the sensor station located directly in the center of the forward wall her third in command Sirche responded, “Madame Mother Supreme, our ship is operating a peak efficiency.  All forward defense screens on and at full power should the Dwarves choose to attack.  We also have all batteries of weaponry powered and targeted on their vessels in the customary show of respect dictated.  The other sixty five ships under our command have done the same, as have the sixty five from each of our other Drow command structures.  Facing us the Dwarves have amassed a small armada of their own numbering three hundred strong.  Sensors show their numbers count several command vessels of the Hammer, Battle-axe, Spear, and Chakram classes.  The leader is currently stationed aboard one of the Chakram class cruisers, the Noble Blade.  At this time sensors cannot detect the approach of the Draconians, however they have contacted us with an estimated arrival time of two hours.  The Dwarven armada is in a similar state of readiness to our own with all defensive shields active and all batteries powered and targeted, however it should be noted that they currently have all their weapons targeted at the ship we have indicated is in command.”

                Impressed with the thoroughness her crewman had demonstrated she had only two questions left unanswered.  “Sirche, status of the system we are currently in and have we detected any movement from the enemy?”

                Sirche’s response was immediate and confident, “Madame, we have not detected any movement within range of our remote sensor stations within four parsecs of our current position.  As you know we chose this system as a meeting, and staging location with our companions as it has no inhabitable planets which means that the enemy will not be likely to send any vessels here.  However, the unusually large gas giants here are playing havoc with local scans limiting our range to less than three thousand kilometers.  Also the armada is having difficulties maneuvering due to the multiple asteroid belts present here.”

                “So you are telling me we are essentially blind and stuck in increasingly confined quarters.”

                “Correct.”

                Comfortably chaotic than,” this she said with a broad smirk upon her lips.  “Contact my opposite number among our companions and patch him onto my central viewer.”

                “Aye, he will be online momentarily”

                At this time her attention shifted to the trio of viewers that were arranged in a semicircle directly above her head.  The exterior screens provided her with constant tactical information.  Ordinarily one would show her the operational status of her great vessel, while the other provided her with the tactical status of her ship as well as the latest threat assessments from both her own crew and any outside forces.  Considering the situation she now found herself one of the screens had been realigned to provide her with real-time data on each of the ships in her force, while the other was currently showing the same information on their opposite numbers in the aligned force.  Regrettably she would have to trust her wife to maintain vigilance on the details that ordinarily only she would have access to.  The third central screen was currently blank as the third allied member had yet to arrive and it was this screen which sprang to life before her.  She had a quick moment to survey the information on the nearly five hundred ships she had currently gathered before the leader of the Dwarves appeared on screen.

                She cringed inwardly as dealing with the gruff species always made her uneasy, but she was pleased to see that they were taking the situation seriously for a change.  The visage before her was that of a middle aged and slowly greying individual.  His face was covered in scars from previous battles, the largest of which bisected his face nearly in half from temple down.  His left ear was gone and his right eye had been replaced with an infrared ocular implant.  Upon his brow he wore a thick metal crown of very ornate design which had many chords of Mithril, gold, and adamantium wrapping around each other.  These chords came to an interlacing tip roughly 4 inches above his hairline and served the double purpose of forming a glorious helm which continued down the back of his head and wrapped around braided section of his thick rust colored beard before ending in to smaller tips which jutted forward, presumably allowing him to stab any unfortunate victims standing directly in front of him.  Upon seeing her his mouth spread into an imitation of a smile revealing his double layer of sharpened teeth.  His hand rose before him revealing the fact that he had had his knuckles replace with metal hinges that had deadly barbs rising out of his skin, yet another weapon at his disposal.

                “Greetings Yeslek, it is …. Pleasurable to once again look upon your lovely visage.  Your fleet honors me by greeting me in the traditional manner of having all batteries charged and open allowing us to see that you hide nothing from us.   A surprising move from your race I must admit, but a welcome one!”

                “Honorable Broontae, you honor me as well by your very presence.  I was not expecting them to send the commander of their entire Starfleet to meet with me.  I apologize for keeping you waiting, I was dealing with affairs of state when you arrived ahead of schedule, affairs which could not be rushed or neglected.  As always I will invite you aboard my ship to negotiate the terms of our partnership for this encounter.   Upon conclusion of our negotiation I will of course accompany you aboard our own vessel as we conduct the ceremonial breaking of bread to formalize our temporary alliance”

                His reply was slow in coming as he appeared to read over a data pad he had been handed by a subordinate.  “I must also apologize as I seem to be keeping you waiting now.  I agree to your proposal. I will of course bring my aid aboard with me as a precaution as I assume you will do as well.  We will resume this conversation aboard your ship in ten minutes …. Unless your affairs of state require a more … lengthy … time to prepare that is.”  This he ended with a smirk, which on him conjured the image of a snarling feline.

                Feigning ignorance at the true meaning of his comment, “No, my lord. The preparations have already been made and we will be ready to receive you in ten minutes time.  May you be in good health upon your arrival!  Yeslek out!” At this she averted her eyes from the screen above her which automatically disconnected the communications channel.

                Her eyes shifted back to the display of tactical information displayed above her.  After reading through the data for a few moments she whispered a command into the communications speaker on he left shoulder pad of her throne, “All ships activate rear defensive screens on my mark.  Three, two, one, mark!”  She was pleased to see that all ships in her command instantly responded by bringing their full defensive shielding online.  She watched for another moment, then switched her gaze to the screen showing the Dwarven armada and was amused to see that Broontae had followed suit and all ships under his command were also now at full combat readiness.  Seeing this she was satisfied that the first stage of her plan had been successful and she rose from her seat and launched herself across the room heading for the exit.  She had a large area to cross in a very short amount of time as the landing bays were located on the lowest level of the ships abdomen.

                Thirty steps down the corridor heading for the nearest drop chute her wife caught up to her, “That was masterfully done.  You quickly asserted your power and left it clear that he answers to you in this alliance.  You also made it clear that you felt this alliance secondary to other matters which will keep him focused on analyzing your every word for hidden meaning.  Beautiful!”

                “Thank you my wife.  What news of the ship and her readiness?”

                “Nothing much to report.  The oxygen recyclers on the lower levels are in need of maintenance operating at less than thirty percent efficiency.  I have already dispatched repair crews.  Tactically the ship is full power and all crewmembers are at battle stations.  One thing I did observe is that cadet 4593 has surpassed thee expectations of his mentors and has been recommended for promotion, thee odd part is that his mentor is requesting he bee promoted by three levels!  Reviewing his file 4593 is extremely volatile and very aggressive in battle, while also being a competent leader who brought his teams out of their last eight missions with no reported casualties.  Additionally he was the top in his class in military college and strategy planning.”

                “Interesting, have him brought to our quarters immediately upon our return from Broontae’s ship.”

                “It will be arranged.”

                As they strode down the hall they watched as the walls on both sides receded upwards revealing the lichens behind them which bathed the area in a gentle blue and green glow.  The lichens had been carefully engineered to allow visitors relying on traditional sight to see, while also allowing the Drow to continue using their own natural vision without being blinded or left squinting.  Under the light of the plants the walls of the corridor became more visibly detailed, revealing the tight skeletal structure of their curvature.  Each corridor had been deliberately designed to reflect the imagery of being inside a living creature’s ribcage.  Beneath the leathery skin one could clearly see a series of fluids being pushed along channels which very much resembled blood vessels.  The walls themselves were alive with any number of creatures.  The central religion of the FIRST Drow fleet revolved around Lolthe, the spider queen of chaos and destruction, as such many of their constructs were home to hundreds of crawling arachnids and insects for them to feast upon.  A glorious and beautiful chorus of life and death played across every inch of the ship at all hours of day.  Of course the infrared vision they typically used allowed them to see all of this and more, however both women enjoyed the occasions when they could steal quick glances at this masterful play under normal eyesight as it gave it a completely different gravity.

                Coming around the final bend in the lane they could see the gaping opening of the drop chute ahead of them and both women increased their strides and charged headlong into the opening, flinging themselves willingly into the huge negative space with abandon.  The sensation of free-falling down the chute was exhilarating as they pressed their arms tightly against their bodices and shot across the opening to connect on the far wall.  Just before reaching the wall both women turned in unison and angled their bodies at a slightly more level orientation with feet towards the wall facing the direction of the opening they had flung themselves through, finally their feet connected with the wall, their knees bent to absorb the impact then pushed out to launch themselves once more across the void.   They repeated this maneuver several times as they rapidly descended into the bowels of the giant spider in which they flew. 

                Finally the ground level was in sight as the women approached the wall again they oriented themselves horizontally with the ground and hit the wall running.  From this point on they would run the circumference of the chute until they reached a reasonable height at which point they once again launched themselves into the center of the opening and performed three backflips before landing gracefully at the bottom level of the leviathan.  This had always been the preferred method of traversing different levels within a building ass it kept thee mid focused, thee body fit, and provided a needed outlet for unwanted and possibly dangerous energy.

                Leira lowered herself into a cross-legged meditation stance, closed her eyes, raised her arms above her head and froze.  Here she would remain until her wife’s return.

                Yeslek, however strode purposefully from the room chute and navigated her way to the landing bay. 

                As she entered the bay she was pleased to see that Broontae’s ship was already in the process of being docked and that she would not have to wait long for him to emerge.  There were other means of transport at their disposal, all of which were more timely and efficient than a direct dock with the other ship, but the culture of her counterpart was highly grounded in tradition and thus this was their preferred method.  If it meant her plans could continue to their predetermined outcome she could withstand indulging him his foolery.

                Finally he emerged and moved in her direction.  As dictated by tradition he stopped three paces in front of her and lowered himself to one knee, bowing his head in reverence.  “I, Broontae, hereby swear that so long as I am on your grounds I shall protect you with my life.  So it is written, so it must be.”

                She also bowed to him in acknowledgment of his vow and intoned the second half of the greeting, “I accept your offer, and do hereby reciprocate.  For so long as you are on my grounds and therefore under my protection no harm shall befall you, lest I be slain in just vengeance.”

                The greeting now conducted the two leaders approached one another and grasped one another’s forearms to show the other their strength as well as showing that they carried no hidden weaponry within the sleeves of their garments.  She then turned and led the way back to the drop chute where they would meet with her wife who rose from her seated position and offered a similar greeting to the one they had already conducted, with the addition of offering herself as personal bodyguard to the visitor for the duration of his stay.  He accepted in the traditional manner.

                His attention than shifted overhead as he looked into thee infinite darkness waiting above and he inquired as to their means of transport from this point.  As if in response to his query a flat, metallic disk rose from the ground next to him.  “Leira and I will climb our way back to the level of our meeting, you however will ride upon this disk to our destination.”  Without another word the women each raced to opposite walls and began leaping from step to step until they had built up enough momentum to launch across from one side to another and he watched eagerly as their paths crossed back and forth repeatedly until they were lost to his sight.  Neither woman appeared to be breathing heavily or perspiring in any way.  He was thoroughly impressed and also slightly annoyed at himself that he no longer possessed the ability to even attempt such a feat. He climbed aboard his little discus and was shocked at the speed with which it launched him upwards.  In no time he had caught up to the women who were already waiting for him on the level of their meeting.  From there they lead the way into the Superiors personal quarters where the doors were closed, locked, and all surveillance both inside and out was deactivated by her personal code.  Here they remained for over an hour.

                When they finally emerged they went directly to the drop chute where it was revealed that this time the three would take a discus to the bottom together.  After reaching the bottom they went to the landing bay where Broontae boarded his personal shuttle and the two women parted ways as Yeslek boarded her own personal craft and followed him back to his vessel.

…..

                Aboard Broontae’s vessel the greeting was repeated in reverse with his second swearing to be her personal bodyguard.  They left the shuttle bay of his ship and walked into what he called the cable lift station.  Like thee drop chute of her own vessel they entered a largely empty, roughly round chamber which appeared to be a huge pipe running vertically through this ship.  Unlike her own vessel however the space was not empty, here there were dozens of empty basket lining the walls and several sitting in the center of the area connected to large metal rails which could be seen to attach to the side walls further up.  It was into one of these they stepped.   Out his pocket the second produced an ancient and archaic metal key which he inserted into the appropriate slot on the control panel, he then hit a sequence of numbers which presumably instructed the basket as to the destination.  Slowly the basket began to lumber its way along its prescribed path.  After a moment it began to pick up speed and by the time their rail reconnected with the wall they were flying upward so quickly that her eyes were stinging in the wind around her and her gown was billowing wildly at her feet revealing for both men to see the various weapons she had stashed on her person.  Seeing this they glanced at each other and then both gave her an approving wink at her level of preparedness.

                Finally their car reached its destination and they were thrust into a small, dark receptacle which had one revolving door.  The door slowly opened to reveal a brightly lit grand hall.  Her vessel had been designed to appear to be a living organic creature, his on the other hand seemed to be designed to be an ancient stone monument.  The walls and vaulted ceiling were made of a solid and unbroken chain of dark navy blue colored bricks.  The last three feet of the wall prior to the ceilings were made of a different stone blood red in color and crusted throughout with what appeared to be genuine rubies.  Running the length of the room, ten feet in from either side wall were two rows of immense columns reaching from floor to ceiling.  These columns were also made of the same navy blue bricks as the wall, but these had been polished smooth and running throughout the pillars were rich veins of emeralds and sapphires.  Hanging from the ceilings far overhead were six enormous chandeliers made from solid gold, inlaid with both black and white Mithril. 

                At the far end of the grand hall several tables had been set up, four tables lining the walls and one large table arranged ninety degrees from the others.  The four on the walls were covered in multitudes of food, while the lone table was itself surrounded by chairs.  Clearly the breaking of bread ceremony was to become a full on feast. 

                THE feast had ended and Yeslek had returned to her ship.  During the short journey from Broontae’s ship to her own she had observed the first of the Draconian forces entering the system.  The moment she was back aboard her vessel she headed directly for the bridge.  The Draconians were ancient and powerful, but with little patience for the smaller beings of the universe, not creatures one wished to keep waiting.  Since she was in a rush she chose to forgo the traditional method of traversing the drop chute, and instead boarded one of the discus which traveled for more swiftly than she.

                Reaching the level of both her throne room and the bridge she quickly traversed the corridor and met her wife at the entry to the command center.  Knowing of the Supreme Mothers need for speed, leira had met kept the door to the bridge open and greeted her lord with a quick brushing of the fingers to indicate pleasure at her return, than launched straight into business.  “The Draconians are nearly an hour behind their revised schedule and refuse to give any details to the cause of the delay.  The fleet they brought is still emerging from FTL just beyond the edge of the system and is currently two hundred strong and continuing to grow.  Thus far the ships which have emerged are mostly fighters with a few smaller corsairs and warships.  As is tradition with the Dracons their leader will be bringing in the rear to ensure all their forces have successfully made it to their destination.  Both ours and the Dwarven fleets remain at full battle alertness and are ready for instruction.”

                “Excellent work.  Are there any indications as to the full size of the fleet emerging from FTL?”

                “No, mistress.  Original brief from the Draconians indicated a minimum force of one hundred twenty.  We are already well beyond that number.  Our sensors are still slightly limited in range due to the radiation present in this system, however scans do show that the jump point being used by the fleet is still active an in use at this time.”

                “Very well, let’s get in there and prepare for the arrival of our newest ally.”  A scowl crossed her face at this word.  She would never show it publically, but she had never enjoyed the concept of having allies.  The mere thought of trusting her life to another appalled her and went against everything the Drow believed in, however she was forced to face the truth that her forces alone, mighty though they be were insignificant against the foe they now faced.  Though it pained her to admit it allies were her race’s only means of continued existence.  She had therefore chosen to align herself with the most powerful allies she could, in the hopes that even if she were deposed in the end her people would survive.

                Taking her place on the central throne she had the central screen above her altered to show the tactical data of the new fleet entering the system.  The numbers had grown while the two had been conversing, the Draconians now numbered over three hundred strong and still growing.  She looked at her second and third officers in concern, there had been no data to support that the Dracons still controlled a fleet of this size.  She gave each a quick nod of the head accompanied with a predetermined hand signal, the two women acknowledged the order and immediately went to work.

                While her subordinates worked on the next piece of her plan she took a moment to marvel at the grouping of ships assembled before her on the master vid screen on the forward hull.  Before her were ships she would never have imagined gathered in peace, or for that matter in pieces, before this day!  There was her assemblage, led by her own massive dreadnaught, built to resemble the great Spider Queen herself the goddess of chaos Lolthe in her arachnid form.  Her ship was significantly larger and more powerful than any other in the Imperium’s possession, but not the only powerhouse.  Among those she had assembled there were also a scattered handful of the widow class cruisers, huge vessels built to remind enemies of their primal fears.  Also amassed before her were nearly two dozen of the deadly scorpion class heavy cruisers and four dozen of the nightmarish Tarantula class command carriers, each of which carried a small armada of their own, housing nearly a thousand wasp fighters and thirty small, but powerful warships. 

                Her eyes than shifted to Broontae’s forces.  He had brought with him fifty Chakram class cruisers including his own vessel.  The Chakram was built to resemble the ancient throwing disk swords of Broontae’s own clan.  The cruiser version of the weapon was not simply a ring of deadly metal like its ancestral predecessor, this version was far more deadly with a triple ring of habitable areas which was split in four equal quarters which could separate and fight independently of each other when needed.  In addition he had command of thirty Hammer class heavy cruisers consisting of a lengthy shaft leading to a massive carved hammer head bristling with weaponry.  Also in attendance were twenty of the spear class corsairs.  Finally he had in his group fifteen of the mighty battleaxes command carriers with similar proportions, firepower and independent support craft to her own carriers. 

                The draconian fleet was no less impressive, but far less optically pleasing.  Their culture had evolved in a different manner than either hers of her counterparts.  They did not worship divine beings, nor did they celebrate the power of their weapons as they themselves were massive organic weapons.  Their vessels were therefore less specialized in design style, instead favoring basic geometrical constructs.  Various spheres, saucers, arrowhead, diamonds, and finally cubes were in the mass which was gathering.  All draconian ships were constructed of a hybrid mineral known as castrodinium, made from a combination of diamond, white Mithril, titanium, vibranium, and adamantium.  Virtually indestructible and highly sought after, Yeslek she had three separate plans currently underway to learn the secrets of processing this marvelous metal.  Due to the stature of their race the vessels they employed were understandably large in design, the smallest of which dwarfed her ship nearly four times over, and the largest ones thus far made her ship seem miniscule. 

                She than shifted her eyes back to the tactical displays overhead and allowed herself a moment of pride at what she had accomplished.  Each of the vessels gathered before her had the destructive capabilities to lay waste to entire systems.  Not only had she been able to gather and unite them under one glorious cause, not only had she a member of the least trusted and chaotic species in the galaxy managed to negotiate command of this assemblage, but she was also taking the opportunity to covertly steal their secrets from them and prepare contingencies should they become necessary.  The thought of contingencies brought her attention back to her subordinates who both indicated the orders had been delivered successfully and that the command she had given would come to fruition as planned.

                Pleased with the situation and seeing that the new arrivals still had vessels emerging from lower-space she took the opportunity to walk the bridge and inspect her crews work.  As she made her way around the rings of workstations she was pleased with what she saw.  Her command crew were incredibly well trained and disciplined.  She expected nothing less than perfection from all of them.  Approaching the station from which the projectile weaponry was controlled she could see a bright purple indicator flashing rapidly on screen.  She came up behind the crew member and observed her actions for a few minutes before announcing her presence.  “Iba, what seems to be the issue here?”

                “Madame, my apologies.  Firing tubes nine thru fifteen are currently offline due to an unknown power surge.  The technicians have been attempting to identify and correct the issue, but are at a loss to identify the cause of the surge nor why it caused such large scale failure.  Without knowing the cause of the failure they will have to pull apart each unit to review and repair each effected piece to ensure each unit will work at peak efficiency.  This process will take a few more hours.”  Confident that she had provided the Mother Supreme with the information she had wanted Iba quickly turned back to her console.  “All other torpedo tubes, cannons, missile launchers and gun batteries report combat ready and operational.”

                Yeslek allowed the officer to believe momentarily that she had satisfied her commander’s inquiry and turned from the station, but only momentarily.  She took two steps and quickly spun in place lowering herself as she spun and kicked the chair out from beneath the woman, completing her spin she rose back to full height, drew her scimitars and leveled them at the woman throat.  “I noticed the failure in our tactical systems hours ago prior to meeting with Broontae.  I am profoundly displeased that the problem persists and that you have not left the bridge to take care of the issue personally at this point.  We are sitting in the midst of a loosely controlled army of recent enemies.  Do you think that none of them can detect this failure?  Do you believe that it is wise to allow ourselves to appear vulnerable or inefficient while in their midst for even a moment?  A tactical deficiency of even the smallest caliber at this time could be fatal to all of us.”  She allowed voice dripped with anger and reverberated throughout the chamber.  In one quick motion she used one weapon to sever the left hand of her subordinate and the other to remove her rank insignia.  “For your failure you are hereby demoted two rank levels and reassigned to waste disposal in the lower levels.  You will be allowed a trip to the medical center in three hours, once you have met with your new superior and familiarized yourself with your new duties.  You will also be required to endure the trial of repentance immediately after leaving the bridge.  Any further failures will result in fatal punishment.  Now be gone.”  At these words she turned her back and lowered her head to the floor.

                Iba rose slowly from the ground and looked around the chamber in shock.  Everywhere she looked the officers were all rising from their stations, crossing their arms in front of them, quickly about facing and lowering their heads in shame! The entire command staff was signaling their dissatisfaction at her behavior and averting their eyes in shame as well as ensuring that they did not share in her fate.  She removed her tunic and used it to wrap the stump of her arm, than rose to her full height and slowly wound her way through the stations around her making her way to the exit.  Reaching the exit she stopped and turned back to take one final look at the bridge.  Seeing her turn back the entire command staff spun in place to again look away from her disgraced form.  She turned back to the corridor ahead of her and strode purposefully to the drop chute.  Reaching her destination she proceeded to her new station.

                On the bridge Iba’s replacement slid quickly into her seat assessed the information presented on the screen and turned to Yeslek, “Madame I have seen this type of failure before.  Considering the region we are in and the fact that we have been running at full battle readiness for more than seventy two hours it was bound to happen.  Bear in mind that our ships are technorganic in nature.  The shielding will protect us from the radiation as well as from enemy weaponry, however the constant power drain added to the lack of nutrients for the ship in this region of space led to overexertion.  The power channels became overcharged and the ships nervous system directed the energy discharge to the area which it deemed least critical to the crews overall survival.  Disturbingly that directive should have sent the energy discharge to the waste reclamation, water recycling, and refuse removal system not the weaponry.  I will investigate why our head technician is not aware of this redundancy on the system and how to repair it.  I will also visit engineering and have the neural pathways reworked to ensure future energy discharges are directed correctly.  I estimate repairs will be completed within the hour.”

                “Excellent crewman.  You will be allowed half an hour as this embarrassment has been allowed to continue for far too long.  I will expect you back at your new position in one hour with an update of the status of this issue.  Now go!”

                “Yes mistress.”

                Having taken care of the issue at hand she motioned her second and third to join her in the command area.  Once present she activated the privacy setting and instantly an energy barrier activated around them which made the three unobservable by the crew.  “Report, how many have responded?”

                Leira responded first with a smirk upon her face, “Mistress as instructed half have replied.  They have reported that the orders were received and acknowledged.  Estimated time to carry out their orders is half an hour.”

                Sirche nodded to confirm that she had received the same information.  In what could only be eager anticipation she added, “Mistress the secondary message was sent and received.  The package is in motion and will be available within the hour.  Furthermore, the weapons officers in the lower sectors report that they have completed their analysis of the offensive devices onboard our sister ships within the Imperium and are capable of duplicating them as well as defending against them.  They do however wish you to know that the system we are currently in does not contain the raw minerals they need to duplicate the weapons at this time.  Finally the devices you planted on the Noble Blade have succeeded in piercing his encryptions undetected and we are receiving data.  Thus far we have only gleaned navigational and political files, however the design specifications for his vessels construction, capabilities, and flaws will soon be ours.”

                “Outstanding, I may have to outwardly embrace this embarrassment of an alliance, but I refuse to not benefit from it personally.  Within the day we will have the secrets to the Dwarven FTL drives, and shields, both of which are far superior to our own.  We will also have gained access to the formula for creating Draconian castrodinium.  Together these defensive advantages coupled with our own offensive capabilities will allow us the advantage in future battles, nullifying the necessity of these distasteful alliances.”

                From leira, “My wife it appears that the jump point has finally closed.  The final vessel of their fleet is entering the system now.”  At these words the other women’s eyes glanced quickly at the tactical displays overhead and froze in astonishment.  With the new arrival the assembled grouping of vessels now numbered at a thousand strong.  They shuddered with both pride and dread.  None before had ever gathered such a force for a unified cause and this was an accomplishment to be proud of.  On the other hand assuming that the factions of the Imperium could maintain their own tentative alliance with one another the Drow forces were now outnumbered five to one, even with their superior offensive they would be hard pressed to win a battle if their allies turned on them.

                Yeslek met the eyes of her partners and gravely intoned, “Enact the final contingency.  We must not allow for failure at any cost.  As of this moment code white is in effect.  You know what to do.”  With that she waved her hands above the sensors on the arms of her throne and intoned the security phrase lifting the privacy cloud around her station.  She settled onto her throne and prepared herself for the forthcoming conversation with her final compatriot in this venture.  One with whom she had vast experience.