Interlude II - Considering Power

Lady Fukamachi is compiling a fine history of recent events but it lacks one important viewpoint but that is because she is not in a position to see that point. No... That's not quite right. I do believe that the Lady Fukamachi is aware of this point but has not the experience to illustrate it appropriately. After all, you can be aware of something, you make allowances for it but it is not the same as experiencing it and it was impossible for her to experience it. So what follows is an extract from the log of the Kasd'n Goa that illustrates the point that needs to be made at this juncture.

From the Terran's point of view the Interstellar Meeting was a good chance for them to discover the powers in the Universe but for the rest of us, it was a time when our preconceptions were over turned. For millennia the Tekki and the Advents had been fighting and they were the two powers who truly held sway but a third power emerged at that meeting, one which I am sure both the Tekki and the Advents had been waiting for.

This third power wasn't the Terran's themselves but since they were it's face for the time, our reaction to first contact with them before the Interstellar Meeting serves to show what the rest of the universes sentient races were about to discover - The Third Power would walk it's own path to the future and may the heavens help anyone who got in the way because nothing else would.

===

Captain's Log, Kasd'n Goa

Interstellar Date: 7367455.96

Kyheena Empire Date: 34th Year of Emperor Xenif ib Kyheen, Poeuh Dynasty

Night and Day do not exist in space. In what can been seen as eternal night the light of the suns is not significant but this cycle First Contact was achieved and I will say that it was both night and day, victory and loss.

Extract from the Captain's Log, Jiaos Goa

Star Date: 7366587.41

Kyheena Date: 12th Year of Emperor Yausid ib Kyheen, Reavig Dynasty

I start my log with an extract from the date of First Contact with the Advent's because it is fitting for the First Contact that was achieved today. 'Victory and Loss' is what Captain Beaida wa Kyheen said but what he really meant was our loss and the Advent's victory. Our survival hinged on that though and Captain Beaida wa Kyheen's diplomacy and the sacrifice of the Jiaos Goa is what ensured it. But today I can say that I have seen the future, I have seen not our victory, that would be too much to hope for but I have seen the Advent's loss.

The details of this First Contact with a previously unknown race have been recorded in the ship's log and for my own log I wish to transcribe the Officers meeting that followed. The meeting consisted of myself, Commander Uryal'ng va Kyheen, Sub Commander Kwejira wa Kyheen, Field Captain Ausido wa Kyheen, the Officer for Interstellar Relations Basoid op Kyheen and Tactical Officer Paos'ya xa Kyheen. At our meeting we made a number of decisions which we believe are for the good of the Empire and in what is to follow I can only hope that what we believe holds true.

Even as I write this, we have resumed our passage to Planet Hasiya for the Interstellar Conference and while it seems incredible we are being escorted by two Advent ships but these ships do not belong to the Advents, they are loyal to the new race. I believe they will peel off before we reach our destination and for that I am thankful. This new race is going to make a big enough stir that we do not need to be caught in the middle.

I will summarise the information discussed now so as to avoid confusion. They are from a Planet they call Terra and such a name is not known to us. They also speak the language of the Advent Soldiers. We saw four individuals and heard a fifth. The four that we saw were Guyvers - two GuyWarriors, one GuyHealer and one GuyGeneral. I know there are Kyheenan's who are Guyvers serving the Emperor, GuyWarriors, powerful ones but... there was something about this species... They were powerful and they cut through the newest Advent soldiers like they were nothing. A Guyvers strength is determined by the host and I believe these hosts were of the highest power. Our discussion was based on the power they displayed and the considerations that such power required.

===

Uryal'ng sat down tiredly. "Well..." He began, unsure where to begin. The overall topic of the meeting was decided, it couldn't be avoided with the Advent ships flanking them but where they started was something that was lost in the dark. "Any thoughts..?"

Most of his Officers shook their heads, various expressions of confusion on their faces. It appeared the new race was an enigma to them all. Basoid especially looked stunned, not that Uryal'ng could blame him. Everything he had researched about the Guyvers had been ignored and nothing was as it should have been. They all were confused but Ausido's expression showed consideration as well. He had seen the encounter from space and had only just now read the transcripts of the conversation on board the Kasd'n Goa.

"They were... they are new to space. I think that's why they asked so many odd questions. They are very powerful though, so powerful that they don't know their own strength. They fought the Advents with great experience. To them it is probably so normal that they don't even think about it. That strength they have, they probably think is normal for the rest of us because they do not know the truth," Ausido smiled ruefully. "This is a historical juncture though."

"I think that goes without saying. And because we are at such a juncture there are decisions which need to be made now, for the good of the Empire," Sub-commander Kwejira interrupted before everyone else could comment on the Terran's strength. They knew they were strong but having everybody comment on it would only hinder the progress of the meeting.

"They are strong but there were times when they were weak," Paos'ya xa Kyheen said in voice that held an odd note of superiority as if he believed they could exploit the Terrans.

There were general snorts of disbelief from around the table and Uryal'ng shook his head tiredly. Paos'ya was a brilliant tactician when he understood the races involved but with new things...

"They showed us nothing more than what they wanted us to see," Basoid found his voice, objecting to Paos'ya's statement. "Yes, Paos'ya, they showed us weakness but only if the traditional definitions hold true and I do not believe they do. Guyvers do not remove their armor when dealing with unknown races but these one's had no hesitation."

"Weakness..." Paos'ya said firmly. "They knew we could fight and that the armor was just in the way."

"No..." Basoid said slowly. "Not weakness at all. Guyvers also do not let GuyHealers go anywhere unattended because the ability is too rare to lose and the chance of mishap or misadventure too great. But they had no qualms about letting their Healer attend us, in fact they were the ones who offered the services."

"Fine," Paos'ya snapped, obviously annoyed at being questioned. "A calculated risk then."

Basoid shook his head, unable to see why the Tactical Officer just couldn't see it. The Terrans, like all races presumably had weaknesses but what they had shown them was not weakness, and it wasn't a calculated risk. They had shown them nothing more than what they wanted. Why couldn't Paos'ya see that?

"Paos'ya, I want you to consider something," Uryal'ng began, fixing the junior Officer with a stare.

"Yes, Commander."

"If it was a race you knew, is it okay to lower your defences to speak to them?"

"If it a race you know, you then know if they are an ally or if they are potentially an enemy. You would know how to react and what the appropriate level of defence is.

"If it is a race that poses no threat to you, is it then okay?"

"They are not a threat. They know they cannot challenge you so it is no risk to you and they would only feel intimidated if you left your defences in place."

"Good," Uryal'ng said, nodding once or twice at the answer. "Now, if you are in a position to offer that race assistance, would you let your Healer tend them?"

"Knowing Healers, I probably wouldn't have a choice but I wouldn't let them go without a guard."

"Hmm... Interesting. Let's say you couldn't give them a guard, under what circumstances would you let them go?"

"I couldn't give them a guard?"

"And the Healer isn't going to take no for an answer," Uryal'ng confirmed.

"I'd..." Paos'ya considered his words, aware that the Commander was leading him to a particular point with his scenario. The other Officers were nodding slightly as if they understood what was being asked. "I'd only let them go if I could stay in contact with them. They'd have to wear a communicator, and even a Healer would have to say that that was fair."

"Heheheheh!" The Commander laughed. A more perfect answer for his purposes he could not imagine. "Now Paos'ya, would it surprise you if I told you that the Terrans were in contact with their Healer the entire time she was with our patients?"

"She..?" The outburst came from the Sub-Commander and Captain but for the moment Uryal'ng waved it off.

"They were..?" Paos'ya questioned although he too was awed at the word 'she'.

"The two that came aboard were in contact with each other the entire time they were here and they were in contact with their comrades as well. How else would the third one be able to have come so quickly and how else would Fukamachi know that we were holding a prisoner?"

"But how were they talking..?"

"How indeed?" Uryal'ng threw the question back before he dismissed it. "We can speculate on that another time. It is not what we are concerned with but it is another illustration of how unusual this species was. Paos'ya, Fukamachi and Segawa were not in any danger. They showed us no weakness, or nothing they believe to be weakness. If we consider their actions weakness then it is our misunderstanding and misconception of what weakness is, not theirs. They were in contact with each other the entire time and thus they were in control the entire time."

The Tactical Officer nodded slowly, beginning to see the truth the others had determined earlier. He gulped. "That being the case, what are we going to do about them?"

"That is the question," Basoid looked towards the Commander for guidance.

"Indeed," Uryal'ng appreciated the fact that his crew trusted him but for this situation he was as lost as them. "I believe it comes down to the question of whether we tell the other races of them or whether we chose to remain silent."

Kwejira snorted. He apparently could see the irony in the situation. "With all due respect Commander, I don't see how either option is going to be viable."

"I know," Uryal'ng agreed. "If we tell them, then we are also telling the Advents that we know they have a new enemy and I doubt the Advents will take that kindly. But if we don't tell them, when the Terran's choose to move, it's going to become apparent that we know some things about them."

"We don't know that much," Basoid objected. "They didn't behave like anything they should have."

"I agree we don't know that much, Basoid but I think we know more than we can hide. Even the fact that we know they aren't going to behave like Guyvers usually do is enough."

"We know more than we can hide?" Paos'ya questioned. "We don't know anything we can hide."

Ausido sighed. He had thought that Paos'ya had understood. "Paos'ya," he began gently, catching the Commanders agitation in the way that he flickered his inner eyelids. "Because they chose to reveal it, we do possess quite a lot of information about the new comers. We know that they can speak the language of the Advent Soldiers, something that has previously been unheard of and from that we can infer that they may be able to speak directly to the Advents, again something else that everyone has only ever done through communicators. They also have control of Advent ships, something the Advents themselves have maintained is impossible without a 'Pilot Key', so we know that they possess at least two of these keys. We have seen that they are Guyvers of the highest order we have seen the race that lies beneath the armor and that alone is significant. For us, this particular race will never again be able to be anonymous. We know how dangerous they can be. And they chose to give us that information. Perhaps it was a warning, perhaps they did not know what information they were giving us, or perhaps they just didn't care. They are stronger than anything we have previously seen and the information they have given us is to them something that does not concern them. We know a lot about them in the eyes of other races, even if in the Terran's eyes we don't know much."

Kwejira nodded. "Well stated," he congratulated the Field Captain as Paos'ya finally looked like he understood fully. "Commander," he stated, turning back to the topic at hand. "I don't believe we will be able to say that we don't know them. When we arrive the Advents are going to know their attack failed but what we may be able to pull off is saying that we were saved by them so that all we saw of the newcomers is them killing Advent Soldiers. And that was all. We don't know about their weapons, we don't know they have a GuyHealer, we don't know they can speak to the Advent Soldiers. We don't know anything except that they saved us."

"What about their ships?" Basoid asked.

"That depends on them," The Sub Commander responded. "If they show them, then obviously we are going to know that they have Advent Ships but that doesn't mean we still can't deny everything else, although we may be able to say that we have speculated about some of their abilities. After all, possession of Advent Ships would suggest knowledge of the language, so that if they reveal that ability we can say that we speculated about them having it."

Uryal'ng nodded slowly. The Sub Commanders plan was workable allowing them to admit to some knowledge while claiming ignorance or at least supposition on everything else. "That's workable," he said looking around at the others. "Does anyone have anything they wish to add?"

The Offices shook their heads. "Then there is only one more thing I wish to add," Uryal'ng said, tiredly. "Look at the ships outside. They are old and for the Advents the most powerful ships are the oldest. They are the ones the Advents would guard the closest but these one's serve the Terrans without hesitation and combined with everything else, that is the evidence I need to say this. The Terrans are going to change the universe. The Advents may not survive the change, the Tekki may not survive the change but that is because they are in the sights of the Terrans. The question for us, for the Kyheena Empire and for all the other races is if we are strong enough to survive that change."

Around the table the slight relief that had been evident faded but what the Commander had said was nothing less than the truth. Change was coming. Change that had already swept them up and all that remained to see was who would be strong enough to survive that change.

"That is a question only time will answer but today was hopefully the first steps for our survival," Kwejira said solemnly.

Ausido nodded but then looked oddly amused. "The immediate concern is the Advents. It's going to be one interesting exchange if they attend."

===

Today - 7367455.96 34th Year of Emperor Xenif ib Kyheen, Poeuh Dynasty - has been an interesting date. I believe that it will be looked back upon in the future as the dawn of the beginning. Even if the Advents survive the Terran's I believe they will be a wake up for the rest of our races that the Advents, if you are sufficiently powerful, can be fought and that the rest of us should take pride in our being. Even if we cannot fight properly we need to be proud of what we are and like the Terran's live without fear before the inevitable battle.

The Interstellar Meeting will be a chance for the Universe, for all our races to look at what we fear and decide whether we are still going to cower in the shadows, to decide if we are still going to be afraid. Some day we are gong to have to fight the Advents. While that day has not yet dawned, I believe there will be a time when our races become sufficiently advanced and then they will attack us, fearing that one day we could challenge them. It is only a matter of time and I do believe it is coming. The Advents have made the opening attack in this war with their new soldiers, the Zoanoids. They were made to fight the Tekki but that does not reduce their effectiveness against us and if we Kyheenan's cannot fight them, then I doubt the Wesodin-Corang Alliance will fare much better and as such, I hold very little hope for the rest of the universe.

Despite that though, Ausido wa Kyheen has a point. The Interstellar meeting is going to be very interesting, especially if the Advents attend. I hope they see what we have seen today - that hope to fight them is not completely lost.

End Commanders Log Kasd'n Goa - Star Date 7367455.96.

===

At that point we had no idea just how interesting the Interstellar Meeting was going to be. Not only had all the races of the galaxy gathered but the Advents and Tekki both appeared and as I have stated earlier a Third Power emerged. It was a meeting that truly defined the future. It was a meeting day that burned away our ignorace with its light.

Our reaction to the Terrans was shared by the other races and as expected the Advents did know of them and their reaction, while different to our own was interesting but even with what the Tekki revealed the true story was still beyond our reach. Still our meeting with the Terrans before the Interstellar Meeting, as limited as our interaction was did allow us some background to make the right decisions when the time came and for that, no matter how much the Terran Guyvers shook up our world, I am grateful.

Lady Fukamachi's history, while being truthful to a fault often over looks the Terran Guyver's strength because to her it is a strength and a power that simply is. She has trouble seeing that is unusual much as Kyheenan's have trouble imagining taking a female off world. New races to space are usually the weakest and thus until they gain a reputation or until they prove their worth they are considered... not worthless... but certainly their opinions and ideas are not listened to that deeply. They are considered naive until they learn, until they are blooded in the galaxy of Interstellar politics. The Terrans cut through all of that and by the time they were finished at the meeting there wasn't a race attending that didn't consider them a power to be reckoned with. They, like the Advents and the Tekki were considered a power that stood alone, one you did not offend and one you got out of the way for.

The Universe knew change was coming.