- "We need a local resistance," stated Andreï. "Under other circumstances, I would have said Lennox, which has an interesting university and a culture of defiance. But under these circumstances… maybe Jerimadeth? I was told there were religious people there. Usually, they have a significant intellectual background and tend not to appreciate self-proclaimed gods."
- "Do we know how they reached Lennox? There are no Entangled Gates there," said Tohil.
- "Lennox was, but is no longer, under Aleph's control," said the Wau.
- "Are you sure about that, Wau?"
- "I'm on Lennox as we speak."
- "Alright. Let's imagine Aleph wants to take Lennox, that means at least a week of Drift and installing an Entangled Gate," declared Andreï. "And he would have to produce it. Or he could create it from nothing and deploy it on-site. No, he would have done it already."
- "A living god who can't do everything," commented Tohil.
- "Aleph is limited in his powers," added Ravzan. "Otherwise he'd already be here, among us. Unless he can see the future and knows our efforts are ultimately doomed."
- "Wau," called Andreï, "I'll need brilliant scientists, labs—you know what I mean?"
- "Noted."
- "A resistance, essentially. The equations will be our rifles. If they're caught, Wau, or if Garen gets his hands on Lennox, I'll ask you to forcibly upload them into the After. Their mission will be to continue the resistance there."
- "I'll note it, but I'm not sure I'll comply."
- "I'm giving you the winning strategy. It's up to you whether you want us to lose."
The Wau was naturally expressionless behind his mask, but he tensed up imperceptibly.
- "Let's move on. I don't have the creative genius of academics. I'm not asking for a magic bomb, or an anti-god weapon… we just need a small flaw… you know, in times of imbalance, you only need to know where to push… it could be through the LE, or a transient artifact lost in an attic, or just a simple Xeno…"
- "You want to seek the help of the Xenos, Andreï?" asked Ravzan.
- "It would be more accurate to say we'll have to save them. I know our enemy, Garen Antor. I heard his speech. He wants to conquer all the worlds."
- "And how? And even, damn it, why?" asked Tohil. "We already have too many empty planets and not enough humans to populate them!"
- "If he said it, he'll do it. Once we understand how, we'll refine our plans. Most Xenos will accept his domination out of indifference, submission, or because they'll rebel and lose. And here comes our second topic, Wau. We'll have to create a Xeno union. And make them fight."
- "I can stop Endymions, but I don't see how to unify Xenos. As you rightly said, Andreï, most Xenos are even indifferent to the idea of conquest, which they hardly understand."
- "I'm sure you'll figure it out… you've got over two years ahead of you. A good lead would be to find the person called Gorylkin. She's a smart young woman. The Xenos saw in her something like a saint. The ideal candidate. And I must say she has my affection and respect. Tell her I sent you."
- "I know Gorylkin well. A League warrior who wreaked havoc on Orion Prime," commented Tohil. "She has war in her blood."
- "And for good reason," said Andreï. "It was the HS that taught her everything. Wau, you know who I'm talking about?"
- "Perfectly. I'll take care of it."
Ravzan let out a nervous laugh.
- "How simple warfare becomes when one says 'create an interworld Xeno alliance' and the other replies 'okay, what else?'! Seriously, you're not short on confidence! You think we haven't already tried? And Aleph…"
- "What else?" the Wau cut in imperiously.
For a moment, Ravzan wondered if the comment about the winning strategy had offended him and that he now wanted to remain assertive to keep control of the discussion.
"One last joker. We're short on ships and all the arsenals are in Aleph's hands. But there exists a secret association which, I believe, owns around three thousand ships. The Brotherhood of the Two Worlds."
A silence fell. Tohil spoke up:
- "Well, since no one is reacting, I'll do it. Three thousand ships. For comparison, the Stellar Fleet had, five days ago, fifteen hundred. I understand, Andreï, that you don't say things lightly. But the Brotherhood of the Two Worlds? That's a handful of Ozymandias owned by savage crackpots who spend their time harassing passing merchants."
Andreï turned his eyes away.
- "I spent seven years in orbit around Valentine. I had time. I worked a bit on the Veritatis… without much success. With Sweet Sun, we tried… to reverse the Drift, meaning to find Drift coordinates from a precise location… without using a planet-sized machine that operates by trial and error. I imagine you're not interested in that. Yes, I also took an interest in the Nouvel Horizon expeditions of the infinitely small. In the Wau, too. In many topics. And among those topics, I read the reports on the Brotherhood of the Two Worlds, compiled by the Stellar Fleet."
He looked up, emerging from his reverie. He fixed his gaze on the screen, on the admirals.
- "What's crazy is that everything is in there, and you can't read between your own lines. And those lines say that the Brotherhood operates on Ur – Booz – Jerimadeth, and it's likely their headquarters are somewhere around there. They intercept Ozys, take their cargo, and destroy them. That suits everyone, since those merchants are often smugglers who carry drugs from Ur, slaves or organs from Booz, or stolen relics from Tybalt to trade them through Prospero and Lennox, repaying their Ozy in a single trip with wealthy elites in the true Abyss. To quote the annual report and its invariable conclusion: 'Illegal thalers remain illegal. Stolen goods are sometimes destroyed and systematically consumed by the Brotherhood. The Ozymandias are systematically destroyed. The Brotherhood's repressive action is far more effective than anything the fleet could do without spending a single thaler. If the situation were to change, we could consider forming privateer fleets.' Not bad, is it?"
- "What are you getting at?" asked Tohil, who felt judged.
- "I paused for a moment… I had time, Admiral Tohil. I spent seven years around Valentine. Without even being able to land, since the Transients forbid access to it."
- "Do you want me to apologize?"
- "Everywhere you look, there is something to see, Admiral. So I paused, and I fixed my eyes on your report. I asked myself: if I were a pirate from the Brotherhood, why on Earth would I systematically destroy every passing Ozy? What's the point? Over hundreds of years? Wouldn't it make sense to occasionally take one intact, to replace an old model? And more importantly, why has no Fleet official raised the alarm? Oh, I can just imagine the Admiralty Council discussing the file in the tower of Calchas-3 over a lavish meal, concluding between pear and dessert that pirates are dumb junkies incapable of rational behavior. Lucky us, right? One problem that solves another."
Ravzan raised his eyebrows, struck by the comment—humiliating and painful precisely because it was not far from the truth.
- "I think, on the contrary, this Brotherhood acts very intelligently," Andreï continued gravely. "We don't know where they're based, how they operate, how many they are. I looked at the evidence of Ozy destruction: at the attack site, the inspection Tygers found fragments of the attacked Ozys. I examined the fragments closely, and you know what? It's never the same piece. Sometimes part of a wing, sometimes a bit of the reactor, sometimes a seat. And never the generator or the Drift drive, of course. It's never the same piece because they don't destroy the Ozys. They capture them. And they leave behind a little part from the same Ozy for centuries, because they think we're idiots—and until now, they were right. But if we imagine they have indeed captured Ozys, then they have three thousand."
- "But what for?" asked Ravzan. "To assault the HS?"
- "Yes. It's a calculated and patient plan—therefore formidable. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. We'll have to deal with this one day, but right now, it comes just in time for us. Aleph is a threat to their plan, much more than the Fleet ever was. So, Wau, you'll have to find the Brotherhood and propose an alliance."
- "I will."
- "And if they demand command of the HS in exchange for their help?" asked Tohil.
- "Then we'll have to choose between a gang of outlaws and a monster."
- "A monster—you mean Aleph?"
Andreï resumed with an exhausted kind of courage:
- "Yes. We're reaching the final part. It's time to talk about Garen Antor, and precisely how I intend to stop him."