Roxo was resting in his cabin. He was just getting out of the shower after an intense exercise with his warriors, beating them into a pulp in the ship’s martial arena. Feeling relaxed and happy, he walked towards his wall-mounted communicator that had been beeping for the past two hours. He knew it was a message, but he just didn’t have the will to even bother with it. He already knew the results anyway. They chased away the Neo-Hegemony forces, and they are waiting for further orders and whatever else. He was not interested in the losses, only in the results.

“Let’s see….” He activated it, but it was only an audio message… and it was not from his Hunters.

“Lord…” The female voice spoke up, the same one who gave him the information about the Neo-Hegemony’s expansion.

“Imana? Did something happen back home?” He asked a bit confused why she was calling him. Now he even had an idea some of the other Claws may do something while he was away?

“No… but we received an anonymous message.” She said, and her voice was shaky. Unsure. Afraid.

“Speak.” He said, his tone ordering her to state everything clearly and openly.

“We… I tried to follow the traces of this message, but I simply couldn’t. I am already sent it to you, Lord. The included… images… are real.”

Roxo opened the folder as she said it, and multiple pictures of the defeated fleet surfaced before him. Now, the asteroid field was filled with rocks and debris of a dead planet and hundreds of destroyed warships. He could already make out the images of the warships of his Hunters. They were the top-of-the-line vessels from his side. Even if they faced three others, they should survive or at least be able to flee. Yet now everything was destroyed. As he was watching the images, he could make out a dozen or so Neo-Hegemony vessels amongst them. But… only a dozen casualties? Against an entire fleet? What the hell happened back there?

“Are you sure?” He asked, his voice calm, but deep inside, he was shocked.

“Yes. I… I sent out some scouts, Lord… we are going to have another report in a day. But… the message says…” She murmured, falling silent in the end.

“Speak. I won’t fault you at all. You are the messenger only.”

“It says…” She took a deep breath. “Your offer was weak, Claw of the Night.”

“Hah!” Roxo laughed out loud, but it was not a happy laugh. He was excited but not delighted. “Good! Imana, after the scouts report back, send it to me fully. Then start mobilizing the army!”

“Lord?”

“Just do it!”

“Yes!” She flinched, and Roxo cut the connection before she could say anything more, as he was already calling Junita.

“What…?” Moaned the jelly, tired and annoyed, clearly in a bad mood.

“You knew?” He asked, already thinking she was in on it.

“I don’t know what I know anymore!” She moaned, and Roxo felt that her frustration was eerily honest. “Is this something important?! I have many things to do, and I also think I managed to lend myself in a pickle! I have little time to entertain your furry ass!”

“Woah, bitch, calm down! What, did you contract some STD? Finally, the reckoning has come?”

“Fuck you! I’m cutting the feed!”

“Wait!” Roxo chuckled, letting his frustration out on her a little. “My fleet-”

“Yeah, they are destroyed, I know that! You know what? Here is a free piece of information, going with that!” Junita answered. “They obliterated the invading army and went on the counterattack!”

“What?!” Roxo asked, truly surprised.

“They are already occupied Orasun! For now, they are freeing their kind from the planet and bringing them away. They also announced that the Black Stripes are now in their vassals! They forbade them from having any ships at all! Then they contacted the Alliance and offered them the role of being the suppliers of their new vassal state! We have full access to helping them revitalize their fallen kingdom!”

“Isn’t that great… profit for you?” He asked, finding it weird. Why was she so frustrated now? Isn’t this good news?

“They didn’t come to me! Some other fucker reaps the juicy rewards! I love secrets, but hey, money is also good! FUCK! I think Kuti fucked up… no wonder they didn’t come to me with this… FUCK!” She cursed again and again before cutting the feed, leaving Roxo dumbfounded.

“What the hell is happening….” He mumbled, feeling genuinely puzzled.

…
….
…..

“Please. Come in!” Omega smiled, standing at the docking tube, inviting Junita onto the Dawn. The pink jelly found his smile annoying, but she just nodded, rolling forward, letting him lead her into the lounge where Slyen was already waiting, sitting there with a smile, and she was not alone. Kuti was handcuffed and seated next to her. She was barely looking at Junita, acting as if she did not know her.

“It’s okay.” Junita sighed, coming in, and speaking to Kuti. “They knew it from the start.” She mumbled, making Sylen chuckle. “I should’ve assumed that grandfather would catch onto us.”

“It wasn’t he,” Omega said with a friendly voice.

“And we are not angry~” Sylen added, looking at Junita and then at Kuti. “We are here to give her back to you!”

“What’s the catch?” Junita asked, knowing this seemed too simple.

“None.” Sylen leaned forward, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “We have options besides you. Keshnar still has some friends; we just came to you because you were family.”

“I read that….” Junita grumbled, still angry about the fact that her faction completely missed out on an exciting, lucrative deal. A newly conquered planet whose people were stripped of all ships and could only lease them from another faction? This was a gold mine. If they did it well enough, they could completely monopolize the markets there in a few years. Even if on paper they are vassals to the Neo-Hegemony, give it a few decades, and they would be assimilated into the Alliance or outright buy them from the Neo-Hegemony. Whatever would happen, that was a gold mine; no wonder the first faction they contacted jumped on the opportunity. She hated the fact that she had competition now.

“Every decision has its consequences,” Omega said, unlocking the shackles on Kuni and letting her walk behind Junita. She kept her head down, feeling guilty that she caused a problem for her Boss… and it seemed it was not a small problem.

“Yeah, I get that.” Junita sighed. “It won’t happen again.”

“I don’t believe you,” Sylen answered instead of Omega, but she was not angry. “If it does, you are going to lose more and more opportunities.”

“...”

“Now that we gave her back to you,” Omega continued, “We also have some advice for you to show we are not really angry about it.”

“I’m listening.” She said, looking at him, but his following words shocked her.

“Don’t finish the weapon you are making here. It would bring you no good.”

Junita tried to remain calm and collected. She didn’t flinch, just thanked him and left with Kuti as soon as possible. Only when they were back on their ship did she break down, a bit afraid of what else they may know. After learning about the possible threat of annihilation, she thought that the Neo-Hegemony was getting more mysterious daily. They may know more than they thought. Even defeating an invasion force that was not aiming at the famous Gate of theirs? Something was up. Something happened to them. They had to find something. Something… big… And as she thought about it, she started to have a nagging thought that was just as outrageous as the idea of a supreme being that could wipe out life with a snap of a finger… but she couldn’t shake it out from her head.