Chapter 1: The Great Hall

“War is the province of chance. In no other sphere of human activity must such a margin be left for this intruder. It increases the uncertainty of every circumstance and deranges the course of events.”

– Carl von Clausewitz

Jason looked around the large and impressive Great Hall. The space was filling up. He felt himself trembling from delayed shock. He distracted himself by looking at the carvings on the walls and the multicolored tiles. He saw insects of various species helping the allies to suitable seating. The media people were setting up their equipment with surprisingly tiny cameras and lights.

Ouma Chatzke, the ruler of trillions of insects, stood up in her praying mantis form to speak. She was the size of a typical large cow, but skinnier and most of the other insects were smaller than her. The guards, however, were enormous, armored and armed. They stood vigilantly with twitching feelers, casting their multifaceted eyes around the room. The hall was now full and the media area crowded. Jason recognized several of the reporters and producers he knew. As he looked at them, they waved and gesticulated excitedly in his direction.

“My people, we are here today to celebrate a great victory and to mourn those of us and the people of our allies who died,” Ouma said speaking telepathically.

Jason looked towards the Dinosaurs, for whom telepathy was a new experience. They looked excited to hear a telepathic speech. The Queen, Her Highness, Lynas Parayekt, looked regal wearing a massive necklace of platinum links with a baseball sized emerald at the end. Even sitting, her head was at least 25 feet above the ground. Her huge mouth displayed her perfect set of razor sharp nine inch teeth. She sat with two of her advisors, one more heavily built and larger than the queen, one much smaller.

“We are here to honor our allies and friends. They saved us from defeat from attack by the cockroaches of the Coven and the People of Dhoom; an aquatic octopus species from another galaxy. I was meeting with friends and allies when we received intelligence that we faced an impending attack. All of those present sent their available fleets to support us. I will introduce our allies, to you when I honor them with a symbol of our appreciation,”- she stood and held the medallion above her head. “This medallion, created for this occasion, symbolizes our thanks to each of them and awards them honorary citizenship of the Collective. There is no higher honor we can accord.” Ouma continued.

Jason was impressed with the elegant medallion; it first looked like a coin with a jewel in its center, then changed into a glittering jewel, then changed into a coin and finally changed into a semi-transparent cube built around a jewel. It continued to change and reflect the ambient light.

“I will begin at the end of the table with the Emperor of the Jumo; Felix Maximus Romulus known as Felix, along with the Prime Minister of the Jumo people, Cephus Nazared. The Jumo welcomed refugees from the Empire for many years. They lived together amicably until the Coven infiltrated their empire and took control. We knew them as the Mob and they fought two wars against the Empire who defeated them twice. Jason helped defeat a third Mob attack on the Empire, and we assisted him to capture the Mob leader, hidden deeply underground. We honor you, Emperor and your people for your friendship and your help.”

Ouma Chatzke moved over to the Emperor and put the remarkable looking medallion on a thin chain around his neck. The audience made various sounds of approval that filled the hall, each applauding in their own way. Jason looked at the audience and saw they comprised a mix of each of the allies, but there was a preponderance of insects. He saw both groups that had accompanied him from the University.

“Sheila Von Porquenta has proved crucial to our victory. I honor you Sheila,” said Ouma Chatzke as she handed her a medallion. She did not refer to Porquenta, the planetary AI and the creator of Sheila.

“Emperor Cassius is the leader of the Empire of which Jason is a part. The Coven of Cockroaches infiltrated his empire trying to conquer their galaxy. I am sure you recall Emperor Cassius from his popular appearances on the media here. His fleet, forces and underwater craft were of great help. I honor you Cassius”-Ouma Chatzke placed a medallion around his neck.

“I present Jacques and his wife Freya who lead the people known as the Golden Warriors of the Apocalypse. They are an ancient people similar to ourselves. We met through Jason Kargo though we were acquainted with their people; but not for many hundreds of thousand years. We fought with them in the first great Apocalyptic War. Their ships and weapons were formidable even then. We honor you Jacques.

“I will now continue with the table to my right. I first honor Her Highness Lynas Parayekt a similar ancient people to ourselves from a kingdom in a galaxy next to the Empire. We only recently became acquainted with them, yet they selflessly supported us. Their fleet is formidable and they know our enemies well. I am sure you recognize her people and saw her shock troops defending the capital. I honor you Empress,” said Ouma Chatzke looking up as she was helped to hand the Tyrannosaurus Rex Queen a large medallion and chain appropriate for her size.

“Marduk leads the Orcs who you saw defending our cities. He defended us against many planet killer missiles. The enemy injured Marduk severely during the battle. He only had one missile left but he was too injured to control it. The enemy fired their last planet destroying missile at the heart of our planet. Marduk asked Jason and Sheila to control his only remaining defensive missile. Together they saved our planet from disaster. I honor you Marduk.

“Jason introduced us to his allies and his dogs and his boars. I introduce you to Rover, Rosie and Lily who are demonic war hounds, or the Hounds of the Apocalypse or as they call themselves Astro-Hounds, dogs who can travel the stars and to the boars represented by Aylot. They heroically fought the enemy in the cities and on the beaches. Both groups of animals fought in the earlier intergalactic wars,” continued Ouma.

The dogs and Aylot manifested in their fiercest massive forms with the dogs showing their horns and projecting lightning. Aylot showed his fierce tusks. They turned back into docile dogs and a much smaller pig. Ouma placed collars with medallions around their necks as they stood proudly.