𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟐: 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 (3)
Kreion listened to the opinions of the leaders after the Hive Alliance council meeting.
Ludwig suggested that the Quakacor be punished leniently, as it was understandable why they had made the choice they did.
Nazar was visibly upset that the Quakacor, a member of the Hive Alliance and sworn to Kreion’s loyalty, would act in such a way behind the Chimeraz’s back. He proposed that the Quakacor be severely punished, and possibly even expelled from the Hive Alliance depending on Empress Karcon’s reaction.
Phlegeth suggested that they help the Quakacor eliminate the Drataiden, and that the Chimeraz take control of the Andromeda galaxy.
Berne suspected that the Reptured were supporting the Drataiden behind the scenes, as the defeated Drataiden still dared to seek control of the Andromeda galaxy. He believed that if the Reptured were involved in this war, they should be punished instead of the Quakacor or Drataiden.
Gorgo suggested that the Quakacor be severely punished as an example to the other races in the Hive Alliance, so that they would become more subservient to the Chimeraz.
Linnea suggested that they take control of Empress Karcon’s mind and turn the Quakacor into puppets of the Chimeraz.
Gorrm suggested that they simply absorb the Quakacor race into the Chimeraz and evolve.
Drexus stated that the Hive Alliance must establish a clear hierarchy between the Quakacor and the Drataiden to maintain control of the Andromeda galaxy. He proposed that both the Quakacor and the Drataiden be punished, and that the Chimeraz protect the Quakacor until they have gained enough strength in the Andromeda galaxy.
Pyisa agreed with Drexus, adding that the Drataiden should be actively controlled by the United Civilizations of the New Universe.
Jiannettera suggested that instead of mediating the war, they should observe until the Quakacor were certain to win. If the Quakacor gained a strong foothold in the Andromeda galaxy, it would also expand the Hive Alliance’s influence. She believed that mediation and punishment could come later.
Equillocke emphasized the importance of obtaining the information held by the Controller from the Quakacor, since they had already conquered the Drataiden’s Controller.
Finally, Rundalt lamented that the conflict between the Quakacor and the Drataiden was a result of neither race possessing a heavenly land. He suggested that once this matter was settled, they should send a heavenly land to the Quakacor, and forcibly send heavenly lands to the machine-leaning races that had rejected them after the Le-orantarum Federation was disbanded, in order to monitor them.
Kreion’s mind was in turmoil.
In the end, the leaders of the Hive Alliance were divided, and the opinions of the leaders varied depending on their inclinations.
However, if they had all shared the same opinion, the current Chimeraz and Hive Alliance would not exist.
Kreion, who stood at the center of it all, had to consider everyone’s opinions and find a very careful solution.
🔷🔷🔷
Wherever there was a Drataiden presence in the Andromeda galaxy, the Quakacor appeared.
Empress Karcon had achieved a major objective of this war by conquering the Drataiden’s Controller and delving into its memories, but the war had already broken out and they had to keep fighting until it was over.
➖If we don’t attack, we’ll be attacked.
➖Destroy as much of the Drataiden territory as possible.
There was no need to think about the consequences. With the massive forces of the Hive Alliance and the United Civilizations of the New Universe, it didn’t matter how many children died. It was more important to kill as many Drataiden as possible before the war ended.
Crackle. . . . !
The Drataiden were helpless against the Quakacor’s electromagnetic pulse. Fleets were defeated in space, armies descended to planets, and once the ground war began, the Drataiden were overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies and lost their civilization.
Moreover, with the Controller on their capital planet dead, the Drataiden forces were commanded by subordinate Controllers who had to improvise.
However, the lack of a top-down command structure reduced the army’s efficiency, resulting in the sacrifice of many Drataiden soldiers.
In such a situation, it was impossible for the Drataiden to counterattack the Quakacor’s territory. Both sides were losing troops, but one side had their rear colony intact while the other continued to lose their military factories and shipyards, driving them further into a corner.
➖The enemies’ optical weapons are useless against our new children!
➖If only there was no mediation, we could wipe out the Drataiden!
➖We’ll kill them all! They’re no match for our children!
Empress Karcon, seeing the Drataiden being swept away by her armies, realized how powerful her race had become. The Quakacor, who had chosen the Hive Alliance, had grown immensely during the era of peace.
However, instead of being happy, Empress Karcon found herself trapped in a web of her own questions.
Her race had become so strong that the fierce memories of the battles they had fought in the Andromeda galaxy felt futile.
➖To think that we could become this strong. . . .
Why hadn’t they become strong before?
What had they failed to realize after fighting for over 4,000 years? Why did the growth they had experienced in the past few months feel so much greater than the growth they had experienced over the past 4,000 years?
It was hard to believe that they had become strong simply because of a new weapon called the electromagnetic pulse or a tactic called the Drop Cyst. It didn’t seem right to attribute their current strength simply to increased numbers or improved technology.
➖What was it that our race lacked. . . ?
Was it insight? Learning? Composure?
➖The reason we are able to overwhelm the Drataiden in this way is. . . . . . .
We analyzed the Drataiden and made meticulous plans.
We attacked their capital planet by surprise. We killed the Controller and absorbed its information.
We gained the upper hand in every battlefield with the electromagnetic pulse. We accelerated the speed of planetary invasion with the Drop Cyst.
We have so many children that we can continue to multiply. We were able to raise a vast number of children.
➖. . . Perhaps we needed a moment to pause. . . ?
If Karcon’s memories were considered history, there had not been a single moment in the Quakacor’s past when they had stopped fighting. It seemed like they had never stopped fighting for a single moment to think about building armies or creating new weapons.
➖If there is something that the Chimeraz have that we don’t. . . .
If we trace back the reasons why the Quakacor have grown so rapidly in recent times, the Chimeraz emerge as a prime example.
The Empress pondered. What was the reason why the Chimeraz were so strong?
➖Systematized individuals. . . ?
No. The systematization of weapons is something that any race can do.
➖By absorbing the information and technology of their enemies. . . ?
No. That’s just one strategy. It’s nothing special.
➖Overwhelming production capacity. . . ?
No. Although the Chimeraz’s production capacity is impressive, it’s something that collective consciousness races that are oriented towards numbers can generally achieve. Moreover, until recently, the Chimeraz’s production capacity was inferior to that of humanity. The Chimeraz were not a race that had been exceptionally productive from the beginning.
➖Relationships with other races. . . .
That’s not it either. The Chimeraz had overcome much stronger enemies even when the Parahtoria or the Ririm were not by their side.
➖The deal with the Believer. . . .
However, it seems that even such deals were made by humanity before the Chimeraz. Therefore, that is not the reason why the Chimeraz are strong.
In the midst of this cycle of questions, Empress Karcon began to think that she would never find the answer.
Ziiiiiing. . . .
If it weren’t for the humanoid that appeared behind the Empress.
“Empress Karcon. The UNF will mediate the war between the Quakacor and the Drataiden in the Andromeda galaxy, effective immediately.”
Inside a safe colony.
The humanoid had been teleported here using a phase assault device.
“This mediation is agreed upon by the Chimeraz of the Hive Alliance and the humans of the United Civilizations of the New Universe. If you do not wish for extreme mediation, please cease the war at this point.”
At the same time, the Empress could see it.
UNF fleets appeared on all battlefields, deploying powerful gravitational fields to halt the space battles. At the same time, AI armies descended on each planet’s surface, taking control of the battlefields in an instant.
And in the midst of all this, the Chimeraz fleet was approaching the planet where the Empress’s colony was located.
“. . . I understand. . . .”
Soon after, it was confirmed that the Drataiden side would also cease fighting, and the Quakacor armies that had been in Drataiden territory withdrew all at once.
A short while later, Euryale landed an Organic Pipe on the Empress’s planet, and Kreion himself visited Karcon’s colony.
At that moment, the Empress realized as she looked at Kreion. The answer to the question that the Empress had created for herself had appeared.
The reason why the Quakacor had suddenly become so strong, what the Quakacor lacked but the Chimeraz had, what she herself and the Quakacor race lacked.
The clear answer to all of those questions was the being that was right before her eyes.
“Ruler. . . .”
“Does your pent-up anger subside as you kill the Drataiden?”
Those were Kreion’s first words.
Why did you start this war? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? What do you want? What are your goals?
For some reason, the Kreion before her didn’t ask such questions.
That’s why it felt like there was an insurmountable wall.
The Empress drooped her tendrils.
“There are many justifications. . . . But they are all just excuses. . . .”
“I am glad that you understand.”
The Empress’s eyes could not meet Kreion’s properly.
“. . . Ruler. I have only now come to realize what I have not known all this time.”
“I am listening.”
“It was I who was lacking.”
“. . . Yes.”
“As the mind that has continued to rule the Quakacor, I have not grown, and therefore my race has not grown during all this time.”
How nice it would have been if she had realized this simple truth sooner.
Kreion’s eyes reflected the Empress’s remorse.
“Empress Karcon, that is the characteristic of a collective consciousness. If the ruler does not grow, the armies under his or her command will not grow either. And if the ruler grows, the armies under his or her command will grow simultaneously.”
“I am regretful and ashamed. All the memories of my ignorance. . . .”
“I too showed an un-ruler-like demeanor at first.”
Crackle. . . .
The Empress’s eyes all looked at Kreion at once.
“How did you realize and grow then? . . . I feel like I have only grown one step after 4,000 years. . . .”
“Those around me filled the void in my shortcomings.”
That was the difference between the Quakacor and the Chimeraz.
“Empress Karcon, when you make a mistake or do something wrong, are there those who advise and guide you?”
Thought entities.
No.
Thought entities cannot do such a thing. After all, all thought entities are derived from Empress Karcon’s consciousness.
“. . . Everyone in our race thinks the same. Thought entities are ultimately part of my own mind, and children all become part of my physical body.”
As the Empress spoke, she realized. That was the problem. That was the shortcoming.
That was the major flaw that she had been unaware of all this time.
Since everyone from Empress Karcon to the thought entities thought the same, the entire race could act as a single organism without any conflicts of opinion or confusion. However, because of this, there were no different opinions, advice, or ideas within the Quakacor.
Just as the Empress was organizing her thoughts, Kreion spoke.
“It is worth congratulating you for learning something, but separately from that, the Quakacor must pay the price for disturbing the peace.”
“What kind of price. . .”
“Today, countless sacrifices and sufferings have taken place for the sake of peace in the Local Group of Galaxies. You, Empress Karcon, have irresponsibly tampered with the tower of peace that has been built up with the blood of many.”
His expression was cold, and his tone was icy.
“From what I have heard from the Drataiden side, it seems that the cause of the war originated on some desert planet. However, as far as that cause is concerned, it seems that the Quakacor are not the ones who have been wronged.”
“. . . .”
“Wasn’t the thought entity sacrificed on that desert planet one of your children, Empress Karcon?”
“. . . That is correct.”
“If you are trying to appeal to emotion with that, stop it. In my eyes, it is not the Drataiden but you, Empress Karcon, who killed that thought entity and the young Quakacor on the desert planet.”
Empress Karcon could no longer hide anything. This was because Kreion was seeing through everything, one by one, even the things that she had hidden from him. He had deduced all of this from just a few words from the Drataiden side, and he had come to a conclusion that was close to certainty.
“. . . I will accept any punishment.”
“I will let you know the date, so please come to the planet Petra in Hecartra. We will negotiate the end of the war between the Quakacor and the Drataiden, and we will also discuss the punishment for both races there.”
“Why are you telling me this now, instead of waiting until then?”
“Didn’t your thought entity assassinate the leader of the Drataiden? We cannot discuss anything without the Drataiden’s Controller.”
In a word, that was also Empress Karcon’s fault.
“Ah. . . . . . . I apologize again for my immaturity. . . .”
“Make sure that this never happens again.”
Kreion’s cold demeanor made the Empress regret it again.
She regretted that she had lost the trust that she had built up over time, and she regretted that she had taken it upon herself to tamper with the peace that the Chimeraz had worked so hard to achieve and maintain.
She had made excuses for her short-sightedness and ended up doing something that was difficult to forgive. If they had not been a member of the Hive Alliance, they would have been annihilated by the Chimeraz without a word.
The Empress had never regretted anything as much as she did now in her approximately 4,000 years of life. She no longer knew what to say to Kreion.
“So, were there any peculiarities in the memories possessed by the Drataiden’s Controller?”
Empress Karcon had not yet told Kreion that she had looked into the Controller’s memories. However, Kreion seemed to already know about it.
“What do you mean by peculiarities. . .”
“I am asking if there was any connection between the Drataiden and the Reptured.”
The Empress gulped and told him the truth as it was.
“T-The Drataiden asked the Reptured to lend them their voice, but the Reptured refused.”
“I see. Then send me all the memories that you absorbed from the Controller.”
At that moment, the Empress thought that Kreion wanted to infer the intentions of the machines at this opportunity. . . .
“That way, I can side with the Quakacor.”