Chapter 14: Azloc threat

“Emperor, my name is Yoyo Arsames and I am the head of the military, your second in command, my rank is Senior Admiral. Next in command is General Eg’thach Trongronur followed by Adm. Kalman Cazacul and General Feraldus Orlandini.”

Jason introduced them to Linda, Andrea, Celia and Felicia and then to Zafa Nefu, Kariya Nama, Coriyama Kelubaru and Nara Pela. He finally introduced them to Empress Valsam Sabins.

“Adm. Arsames before we begin the meeting my grandchildren who are competing in the tournament would like to meet you briefly.” Jason smiled.

Yoyo nodded.

Jason put his head out of the door and Philippa brought in Chuck and Chloe.

“I would like to introduce you all to my senior Empress Philippa who is from the Collective and my grandchildren Chuck and Chloe who are competing in the tournament. My grandchildren wanted to briefly talk with you, Adm. Arsames. Then they will leave.”

Chuck walked over to Adm. Arsames. “Admiral, Chloe and me have been playing some of the simulations from the Uzliumbax and we think you are the most unbelievable strategist. You definitely deserve your job! That’s all we wanted to say. We wanted to see in person somebody who had fought some of the biggest and most amazing battles we have ever seen.”

He nodded at them gravely. “You can both call me Yoyo. I am truly honored to have met both of you. I wish you the best of luck in the tournament. I believe you will be competing against a formidable group of beings from many different civilizations and even universes and dimensions. We have watched the story of the background of your grandfather since he descended. We have also looked at the holograms of the people who went with the Emperor. The two of you are descended from two of the greatest Uzliumbax admirals of all time who went along with your grandfather.

“After the tournament we will talk again, and I will tell you their names and show you their pictures. I will also give you some of the simulations of the battles they fought. The battles are part of my personal library. From what I see, your talents are already becoming obvious. Your powers, for such young people are more than extraordinary. We will undoubtedly meet and talk again, thank you very much for coming today,” said Yoyo.

Philippa, Chuck and Chloe smiled at everyone and left the room grinning broadly.

Yoyo turned to Jason.

“Emperor, I assume you wish to remain informal?”

“Undoubtedly!”

“We wanted to thank you for saving our lives. These recent events have been a profound shock to all of us. We were always suspicious of King Osman, but we couldn’t substantiate anything. He was very cunning and towards the end had gained so much power he was unstoppable.” Yoyo said.

“Where did you have your reconstructions done?” Andrea asked.

“All the military are being done here. We also did our rehabilitation here, then we returned to inspect the state of our forces. We are fortunate the AIs saved the day. Going into stasis was one of the foolhardiest ideas I could have ever imagined, but now we know it was an idea of a traitor.

“During the inspection, we found that some group or groups have stolen equipment and sabotaged ships. Many smaller warships like frigates and destroyers and even several cruisers were also stolen. Security is once again tight and we are inspecting all our supply planets and the attached reserve fleets. Our equipment is being upgraded to the new standards as are our ships and weapons. I am reassured we will be at forty percent capacity in three months, 70% in a further three months and well prepared by a year. Full refurbishment of our fleets is a task of several years. We have done some work with Porquenta to upgrade the defenses of the Safion AI planets.” He reported.

“How are all of you feeling?” Jason asked.

“Rehabilitation was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but all of us elected to do the extra time to get back to full function. We all feel better than we have for a very long time. That may be because we have entirely new bodies, or it may be because we are not being poisoned any longer.

“Sire, the background you sent us of your life gave us a good idea of the events over recent times. The recent encounters with the Destroyers are reassuring. The fact that we are of the same people is extraordinary. The Dinnio having the same DNA is a great surprise. Our scouts did encounter them in the distant past, but we never had any idea of any common background. Do you have any special instructions for us?”

“Yes, Yoyo I do. There is a great likelihood of an imminent attack here by the Azloc. You may recall, Valsam had a strange method of courting me. She transported troops into the place where I was staying and captured me and then had her way with me.”

Valsam looked grim. “My mother will try to kill Jason and if she fails, she will attack the planet and invade it to kill him and probably me too. If she invades here, she will use Porquenta as a stepping stone to take over the Empire.”

“Have you informed your allies?” Yoyo asked Jason.

“Not yet, Yoyo, Zafa informed me at lunch we are being scouted. Valsam informed us of her mother’s likely approach. You are the first to hear of the threat.” Jason explained.

Valsam sat forward, placed her elbows on the table and clasped her hands in front of her.

“She will send drones to the planet to find us and if she can identify us the drones will assassinate us. She prefers a highly targeted approach. She is strategically much like Jason, very economical and considered, but not as much out of the box as he is.”

“Let us consider the issues as quickly as we can and plan what we do,” said Zafa.

“I agree Zafa. Let us get our battle AIs and see what we can think up together,” said Jason. “Valsam, while we are waiting for the AIs please present in some detail what you expect to happen and paint us a picture of the likely ways our attackers are going to behave.”

Five hours later, they had produced the outline of a plan.

“Now that the formal meeting is over, we need to go to the ships, integrate our communications and work out our command structures, please excuse us,” said Andrea and left with Jason’s team, several of the Uzliumbax team who had joined them and Zafa. They all carried their AIs.

Jason offered the senior Uzliumbax a drink.

“Jason, I am delighted you returned. Your story is remarkable. It made me realize how introspective and self preoccupied we became as a people. You used to say we were becoming insular and parochial and it would do us no good. We were so tired after the Great War we were not motivated to change anything or do anything,” said Yoyo

“Sending our people to be rebuilt and rehabilitated in so many civilizations will change us enormously. The current spread of your Empresses helps you remain involved with their people,” said Gen. Eg’thach Trongronur. “Your allies are a diverse group of very stimulating civilizations. We have enjoyed the many we met. If we add the children of the Destroyers and those of the once clones, it leaves you still many millions short of the people you left with.”

“That is an interesting thought. Here come the grandchildren. Yoyo, you are clearly very popular with them!”

“Grandpa, we are on holiday for another two weeks. Can we come with you to Etarstaway?” Chuck asked.

“Sure you can, if your mother agrees.” Jason told him.

“Grandpa, what is your risk assessment of us going? If we ask mum, we have to provide a credible assessment of risk.” Chuck then asked.

Jason saw the generals and admirals grinning.

“Chloe it is your turn to speak, let us hear how you would assess the risk. What do you know of the situation?” Jason asked.

“We know they were setting a trap for you Grandpa. We know about the Destroyer King and criminal Queen. We know of the two types of poisoning. We know of corruption and criminal activity. I must assume for the purposes of this exercise the Destroyer King made sure he was going to be taken out of stasis and he needed assassins to kill any threats around him when he came out of stasis. Before he came out, he would have had his criminals steal as much as they could while everyone was in stasis. He would need to ensure he finished you off! He would have the palace rigged in many ways to kill you and those close to you. He would have traps in every place you went to. They’ve had tons of time to do this, so I would say the risk of using the palace is too high to think about. It would be impossible to make it safe.

“The criminals who never went into stasis are blending in now and there are AI assassins and criminal assassins who won’t want you back. I spoke to Berit and she tells me that many of the criminals in stasis were stolen. They will also be a danger to us. You are the last person they want back and they don’t want your family.

“It is going to be dangerous for a long-time grandpa. Maybe it is not a great idea unless we do something they don’t expect us to do. Grandpa, send all criminals to the sun as you did with the Grork. Stasis is not a safe way to go. I bet you will find lots more of them have disappeared or been swapped with others,” said Chloe.

“Chuck, how do you assess the risk and how can we mitigate it?” Jason asked.

“Grandpa, I agree with Chloe’s risk assessment and all the criminal stuff. You are too soft Grandpa,” said Chuck.

Jason threw his arms in the air. “So, what do you advise Chuck.”

“Send the criminals from all the planets to the sun. Forget about possible future rehabilitation. It isn’t ever going to happen. If you haven’t found genes to fix by now consider rehabilitation is a dead duck! It lies still, it hasn’t quacked for millions of years and it has a bad smell.”

Chuck grinned.

“I agree you defined a dead duck well,” said Jason gravely.

“The Palace will never be safe until you flatten it and rebuild it or if you capture all the people involved in sabotaging it and get them to show you what was done, even so, I wouldn’t trust them. The palace needs to be demolished.

“We stay on the ship and all meetings are on the ship. If we go to the ground it is never to an exposed place and no crowds. No visit is to be expected. Security infiltrates the surroundings a day ahead of our visit. No ground security lets anyone unauthorized anywhere near us. We have full patrols around and above us. We go to no deep or underground locations from where there are not multiple ways out. We all wear armor and personal shields at all times when we go out.” He said.

“I agree with you both. We have looked at the Palace with the AIs and believe it has been tampered with,” said Feraldus. “We checked your country estate and it has not been breached. You kept it as a secret retreat. That may be an option.

“Now with your grandfather’s permission I would like to hear your thoughts on an issue we face,” said Feraldus who looked at Jason with his eyebrows raised.

Jason nodded.

Feraldus explained about the current threat they faced.

“Sheesh, grandpa, you really are a black hole for trouble. This is real trouble. Those Azloc ships are really dangerous. One of the Azloc guys said the Mega-Queen has a lot more ships than Valsam.” Chuck observed.

Jason smiled.

“Yes, guys, we understand the problems. You now have a chance to discuss strategy and tactics with the best of the best. Go for it!” Jason said.

Chuck and Chloe were soon engrossed in a lively discussion with the Admirals and Generals. They arrived at dinner an hour late.

“Jason, that pair impress me enormously,” said Yoyo. “One cannot think of them as children when they are involved in planning a battle.”

“They constantly surprise me,” said Jason. “They are full of practical ideas we implemented during the wars I fought.”

Jason looked around the room.

“I am pleased to see everyone at dinner has their assault rifle readily at hand. Chloe’s suggestion that we must be prepared at all times for an Azloc transporter assault is correct. Valsam has sent ten times as many marines of hers as my usual guards, to help augment our defenses. They will even be in our bedroom. If the enemy transport in, they look for bigger spaces to do so. They bring in parts of several portals and assemble them there to bring in troops in bulk. They then assemble bigger portals for tanks and shuttles and heavy equipment. It is frighteningly fast. We can’t get portals to work so quickly and neither can the Uzliumbax elite AIs. It is a technique we must learn from the Azloc.”

“We will be happy to teach you how to do it,” said Valsam smiling.

“Valsam you are speaking!” Jason remarked.

“Yes, as Azloc cannot produce speech I did not know how, so I asked Andrea. She took me to medical and the pod did the necessary integration of my brain and trained me. It feels odd and my throat is a bit sore but I am sure I will improve with practice.” She said.

Jason smiled at the Uzliumbax senior military group. “I do wonder what risk assessment the grandchildren decided on when they spoke to their mother?”

They laughed.

“I previously decided to send the stasis criminals to the sun but didn’t give the final orders. I did so before dinner. The Collective lost some criminals in stasis recently. I suspect Osman has already plundered the criminal pool. Now we need to find the ones who didn’t go into stasis! Chuck’s friend Harry and his sister Anita had a clever idea capture pirates and they performed better than anyone previously in one of my simulations by using their little technique. Let me tell you what I think we could try.”

“Jason, I had requested you and all your Empresses to be here this evening. As I mentioned shortly before your plague, I wanted you to meet and talk to Admiral, Reverend Mother, Marcela Arsenia, who is in charge of Intelligence related to political systems but is so much more.” Zafa stood and surprisingly, addressed them formally before pointing at mother Arsenia and sitting down.

Reverend Mother, Marcela Arsenia, then stood up and spoke. “Emperor, Empresses, I know you eschew formality whenever you can, however, this is a time when formality has its place to indicate the gravity of the event. Today, I speak formally in my role as Reverend Mother of the Paragons and Oracles of the Eight Gods. This belief system precedes the time of the Destroyers current form. We did not lose our memories of the past and we have retained our oldest teachings. I am one of the three most reverend mothers and as the youngest, I was sent to serve in the military to fulfill our commitments to the Destroyers, but also to ensure the agenda of the priestesses would achieve an optimal result.

“There are key events for all of you ahead and you will face challenges which will sorely test you:

“Do not underestimate the size and scope of the attack of the Azloc. The Queen knows her future depends on this battle. They can do you great harm and damage, even your lives are at risk, but if you flee you will surely die. I don’t know how many ships and troops she will send, but I know you will be shocked. Make sure you can send reinforcement and you can reinforce your reinforcements. Make sure you cannot be blockaded.

“The Destroyers will face a nasty surprise and some of your renegades will return. Ancient enemies of our people are coming here and they will pursue us relentlessly. They are moving in strength out of Norbut 19.

“You must travel to the capital of your Empire as you planned. Do not delay. Be prepared and be cautious. You must prevail.

“You face trials ahead, that continue without break. The nature of who you become as Emperor is at stake. All of this is honing you and preparing you for your future as Emperor. I will talk of the fragments I see of your most important crossroads.

“Ahead of you there is an obstacle you must surmount. It is tied to a mountain, many trials and travel to realms unknown. If you are successful you will live. If not, you will prove yourselves unworthy and will never grasp the true essence of our people.

“It will seem disaster will befall most of you in the future. I cannot say precisely what it will be, as I do not know but this apparent disaster will place you on the right path and save the Teokraeus from a bleak future. It is a disaster because you are captured and you will be made to suffer. It is an opportunity because you find yourselves in the correct place at a key time. It is the trigger for you to receive knowledge that will give you the powers to achieve your true purpose. For your Empire and friends left behind it will seem to be a great loss and will engender fear and anxiety, but you all will return. This time the Empire will not falter and will be stronger for your loss. Those left behind will receive the knowledge later, as will many of your people and allies. It is analogous to what happened to you Jason, with the Parzool, but the shape of the beginning is obscure and unformed and the events themselves are unclear and one of several options. Sometimes we have a clear vision and we know what it is, sometimes the vision is clear and we don’t know what we are seeing. Other times we can see several events and the consequences that flow from each. One may be the main stream and looks most promising, but another may be the best choice.

“We believed these events were to occur millions of years ago, but it was not to be. Perhaps cycles of success and failure occurred and our linear time does not record it. Emperor, your return was much delayed and you were the critical key.

“Ooryphyon, you will be an Empress as will you Patata and Palatal, that is why you are here. Sadly, Ooryphyon, you will lead yourself astray and struggle back onto the path with difficulty. You must persevere or your people will suffer. Chuck, Chloe and their friends are on the path but face hazards. They are preparing themselves well for the future.