"Prime Minister Anpero. Representative Redge. Thank you for joining us for the first War Council meeting," Takahashi said, as we utilized the Alliance's halls for our gathering. There were talks of inducting humanity into their ranks, which we were happy to accept. "It's been too long."

Mikri beeped. "Nobody thanks me for showing up."

"Mikri, please be serious in your ambassadorial role," Sofia chastised the robot, over the shared chatroom with Corai, Capal, and myself. "This war may be the most bleak matter you've ever sat in on."

"More than when the network told me I had to take care of Preston indefinitely?"

"Well. I wouldn't go that far. Thank you for not lumping me in with him."

"I could never."

Prime Minister Anpero looked nervous; the last thing the Derandi race wanted was to contest the Elusians. "Representative Redge. We thought you died at the Space Gate. Instead, you attempted to stop the Brigands and to find that despot Larimak. I wish you a seamless return to power."

"With or without me, Doros will adjust," the stoic Redge said, his blackened eyes making him look creepier than ever. "My wish is to protect the peoples in this room. We need to create contingency plans, given…who we're up against. I will note that none of us were seen in the visions either."

"I wouldn't panic. Humans were in our place on our holdings, seemingly spread far and wide in the notable absence of Elusians." Corai's voice was calming and matter-of-fact. This was the first direct conversation one of her people had with the Derandi or the Girret, since they stayed out of the Empire's way. "However, I think it's wise for all of us to plan for the mass extinction of our species. I fear for humanity's safety in particular, if they don't bow to the Fakra."

Takahashi forced a smile. "This is Watcher Corai, our resident expert on all things Elusian. Her knowledge is invaluable to both research and any plans involving Suam. You already know Capal, our lead researcher. They're your main contacts for our weapon project's direction."

The Derandi prime minister bowed with reverence. "We have no quarrel with…any of you. We just wish to live in peace."

"You think we don't?!" I objected.

"As we protected the organic Vascar when they were without a home, so we should be prepared to help humanity find a new refuge," Redge ventured. "We should repurpose the Brigand settlement that the ESU cleared out, and use it as a shared territory to harbor civilian reserves of all of our species. To…rebuild our races if necessary."

"All of our species?" Mikri offered a tentative whir. "Does that include us?"

"While the Girret aren't overly fond of you, if you can actually find a decent sample size of androids willing to live in and participate in an organic commune, then I see no issue with it."

"We should hold the inorganic Vascar to the same standards as any of us. That's why we're moving forward with Ficrae's trial; the network would let its crimes go without penance," Takahashi added.

Sofia clapped her hands together. "I do find it encouraging that the network itself didn't take any hostile actions against their creators, even when Jorlen was clearly vulnerable to a raid. The threats we face are far more vast than our differences. We all must come together."

"The Derandi stand with the Girret's idea, as always," Anpero said.

"I meant it when I proclaimed that I could sign any treaties, and this agreement would compel the network to morally progress." Mikri raised a metal claw with a happy smile. "I will insist that they give an honest effort at joining and fostering trust. I will also request that they send better-suited units."

"I welcome the chance to bridge the gap between our peoples. There's too much hatred," Capal offered, pressing a paw to Mikri's shoulder. "Our friendship gives me hope that it doesn't have to be this way forever. Our story doesn't have to end in death, like the Elusians and the Fakra have turned out. We need this most of all, so I'd be honored to have my species included."

Corai's lips tightened. "As for me, I would love to see you living as equals. It'll be a beautiful statement. It reminds me why I'll fight for you, no matter what."

"Then it sounds like we're all in agreement. Humanity will join all of you in cohabitation: our first Caelum colony," Takahashi decided. "Onto darker matters, I'd like us to review Captain Carter's scouting report of Suam."

"That's me! They just send me through portals a bunch of times because I'm awesome. I can use farsight now. That means I can see anything, any time, any place!" I declared, beaming at Mikri. "I can tap into the singularity. You can't, loser. Who's computationally challenged now?"

"You act like you could access the singularity when your wimpy, flabby behind passed out for 11 hours. You overload much easier than me. I'll prove it." The tin can smiled, before mental images of him hula hooping flooded my mind in quick succession; it was like a thousand flashing lights were turning into fireworks inside my brain. I yelped and doubled over, clutching my head, before the robot relented. "You can't even handle that. Your pea brain still sucks ass."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Is everything alright, Preston?" Capal asked with genuine concern.

I raised a hand through the ache in my temples, scowling at Mikri out of the corner of my eye. "I'm fine. It was just a brief shooting pain. Nothing a little rest won't cure."

"Lies. Your dumbassery is incurable," Mikri goaded.

"I will feed you to a grizzly bear, chipbrain."

"I'm in danger. Mama, help me?"

Sofia blinked forcefully. "Mikri, behave, or you're grounded for a month."

The android looked aghast, making a pouty face. "You can't do that."

"Oh, yes I can and will. Some punishment for your bad behavior is long overdue."

There was no way to express what farsight was like in words, especially when it was a tangled web of feelings, inexplicable answers, and peering at a scene like a movie. I forward my vision with all present individuals, with the exception of Mikri, who couldn't interpret organic brainwaves. See, that was what I meant about him being way more computationally challenged! Deciding to take a refresher myself, I queued up my own memory to replay. It'd been difficult to process every detail in real time.

"Thank you for monitoring the situation back home, Preston." Corai's arm snaked around my waist, comforting me—and perhaps drawing her own steeliness from my presence. It must be difficult for her to see the bloodbath ongoing on Suam; I knew she still cared about, and was horrified by, the war ongoing there. "The Shifting City has stood unbattered by the winds of time for my entire life, like it too was immortal. It's sad to see it ravaged and torn asunder."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "I haven't known it that long, but I've never seen a more beautiful city. I'd like it if…more humans were able to see it in the future."

"If there could be only one set of human visitors who got to see and explore it during peacetime, I'm glad you were among them. I'll always hold that memory close."

I leaned my head against Corai's shoulder, before wading into my farsight memory forever. Hopping between 4D portals a few times in the Elusian dimension, I'd been able to cobble together enough questions to acquire a coherent picture. Peering into the singularity was a matter of directing the right questions at the void. My first thought, as directed by ESU researchers and the single-minded Takahashi, was, "What is the status of the battle of Suam?" It cut clear and to the point.

The initial chaos of the attack had devastated surface dwellers of Suam, but the Fakra had no true understanding of the scale of the interdimensional Elusian Empire. The Shifting City was now an empty husk of interconnected teleportation points (just of their holdings in their home universe, mind you) that the invaders had to hop through—easy chokepoints for the Elusians to set up a defense. Millions of Fakra would overrun a single holding, only able to chase the locals through a handful at a time.

Meanwhile, the Empire's capital remained the primary battleground that the grays intended to take back; it required a sizable proportion of the Fakran army to retain control of. At first, Velke's forces outnumbered local defenders ten-to-one in most engagements. I could see through my far sight as they finished off one group…but more Elusian forces warped in right behind their fallen foes. The Justiciary had been caught off-guard, but they were reorganizing. It was a war of attrition that the Fakra couldn't hold a candle to.

Let alone us. What is any weapon going to do?

There were some visual details in the backdrop that I hadn't seen on my first watch, like the Elusians striking down Fakra ships that attempted to clear the lower boughs; the branches of the Shifting City became a blunt instrument to ambush and strike down ships. Levitation soldiers floated down from the sky, swarming Fakra from above. I had angled my mind to look for Commander Velke, as I wondered his reaction to his people's stumbles. The Marshal had directed the Fakra to ambush Elusians from range, while also setting up traps and automated machinery of their own.

The generals had been relieved to have their leader back; under his direction, they sought out creative solutions to Fakra positions that were being overwhelmed. Velke ordered city-destroying bombs to be armed and sent through the portals, spotting the weakness in the Elusians' defenses. They had to come to contest the hold of their gateways, because their defenses didn't account for this arrival method. There was no need to send foot soldiers at all.

The Marshal focused their efforts on protecting their own, sending out rescue missions to any Fakra in trouble. Velke redirected efforts away from destroying the self-repairing Shifting City, instead to wiring every square inch of its exterior with electric current patches. Under his leadership, the Fakra were able to hold their ground, for now. I'd gotten the intuitive feeling that they'd hang in there for a little while, but that their situation was tenuous at best. The Elusians just had…so many untapped dimensions, that their true force was unimaginable.

"What can Velke's people, or humanity, really achieve? The prophecy just doesn't make sense," I told Corai.

The Elusian lowered her eyes. "You can see why the idea of something that can so thoroughly eradicate us is beyond frightening."

"It seems that the Fakra lack our wisdom, and picked a fight with creatures far bigger," Prime Minister Anpero said.

Mikri's eyes dimmed. "The Fakra have fared better than my simulations predicted, but the only variable that causes me to give them any odds of success is the foreseen future. The probability is otherwise zero."

"Good luck, Capal!" Redge hissed. "Ah, I do mean it. No one does better in impossible situations."

The Asscar scientist heaved a long sigh. "I hardly want to be the reason for that. I hope we all can find, or at least try to find, a solution where we aren't deciding which species gets to live."

"If they bring the fight to Earth, all we can do is defend ourselves. I hope neither side pushes humanity to radical solutions for our survival, but we're ready for it to come to that," Takahashi sighed.

"No, you aren't. No one is ever 'ready' for these scenarios," Corai disagreed.

A long silence gripped the room after the Elusian offered that heavy remark; she'd hit the nail on the head. Unless Marshal Velke could pull out a miracle, the Fakra weren't going to give humanity that much time to create an indescript superweapon that would somehow wipe out our creators. Redge was right in that it was an impossible task, one I felt sorry for saddling Capal with. It seemed that whatever choice we made, Earth would still be in trouble…and it was going to be a dark end for some party involved in the war.

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