The Alliance world of Fengili was no longer that of a peaceful, farming community. The plants in the fields had been left to wither and rot. The weeds and grasses had overgrown, some had even blackened as the air had thickened with pollution. It was not the same world that had been invaded just a year past. In the place of the town, a large monolith ascended, it's chaotic shape not recognisable to state its function. However, the numerous small chimneys venting gas and smoke carelessly into the atmosphere hinted at its purpose.

The world had little metal of its own, so the ships of the Alliance's own Armada had been funnelled here along with ore from a nearby asteroid belt. Expressionless humanoids shuttled these materials into the building, where the scrapped metal would be melted and repurposed and the ore refined. However, most of these metals would become merely shells for the internal works required the highest quality Silonium. Only this rare crystal ore could resonate with the high psionic frequencies utilised by the alien Queen.

Millions of silent chips were carried upon conveyer belts towards a highly protected and highly sterile room, where they were circled about an unexpected tool; a humanoid brain. Once contained inside a mortal shell, this gifted person had been forced to shed its body for one reason alone; its psionic talents were high. Attached to wires that monitored it's state as well as forcefully enhanced its potential, it became a conduit to the true power and one by one the chips awoke; linked to their Queen, ready to fulfil their purpose. They crawled out of the factory like a sinister metallic rainbow, coated in colours of silvers, bronzes, golds and greys, before forming pod shapes upon the hardstanding of the landing station outside of town.

Within each pod, a chosen minion was encased. This minion acted as both conduit and power cell whose abilities maintained the connection and provided the necessary energy to launch the pod into space. Some minions would be burnt out, their strength not enough to handle to forced evolution within their brains, but that did not matter too much as the pods would join up with conduits that were more able and begin to form the mass that would invade on their Queen's order.

The megalith was about half finished in orbit above Fengili. Two other megaliths were being formed elsewhere. There were thirty three hours remaining.

*****

Businessmen such as Jariden Thaulow could sense that there was something amiss, though this wasn't difficult to see as military personnel and reserves were being recalled from all parts of Imperial space. The border between the Alliance and the Empire was closed and the other had increased surveillance on both sides.

A few businessmen, especially those that were in the business of weapon manufacture and development thought their would be opportunities for increased profits. However the military then declared a state of emergency and seized all weapons and recently finished spaceships whether they were meant for military use or not without passing a single credit over. This caused an uproar, but they were swiftly silenced with threats that they could be prosecuted for obstructing the protection of the Empire and all its people.

Jariden Thaulow was not one of those who would be effected directly by the military, but the effects of their decisions saw his profits fall as sales were placed on hold and some of his workers took leave to perform their duties as reserves. He tapped a finger upon his desk for a moment, thinking carefully over his cooling coffee, before making a decisive decision. He donated one billion credits to the military. This would upset his shareholders, but he knew in the long term, there maybe advantages.

Perhaps he ought to take a vacation. He searched for a particular signal and frowned. That was fairly close to his world, was that a coincidence? He received his answer only minutes later.

"Jezmi?" he was surprised seeing who contacted him. She wasn't wearing her military uniform. Hadn't all personnel been recalled? If so what was she doing?

"Hi, there Jariden, I need a favour," as usual she was blunt and to the point. However Jariden didn't dislike people like this.

"What do you need?" he asked.

It took her several minutes to explain what was happening. He felt shocked. He hadn't known the situation was so serious. He assumed that the military didn't divulge the full facts as it was surely cause panic amongst the masses. As it was, the public was wary and high strung under the current state of affairs. It was fortunate that most trusted their government.

And to think that Jezmi was on the very pirate ship she had been single mindedly chasing down. That meant she was near... he was not happy about this. At least he could trust that she cared for nothing but those twin boys.

"Naturally I have ships that were due to head to League space," Jariden mentioned. "It will take about twelve hours to prepare them for what you need."

"How are their weapon capabilities?" She asked. He smirked. He had invested his own funds in ensuring his ships had more than the basic shielding and weaponry. Much more. It was not that they needed much to warn Pirates and other thieves that they were far from soft targets, he just had a private interest in weaponry and indulged in his hobby, watching them being fitted. There were even swords, guns and laser pistols adorning the walls of his private cabins, which many of his ships had been designed with. He loved the feel of a sword in hand.

"I doubt even a military Captain like yourself will be disappointed," he mused. "I'll prepare a vessel immediately." She thanked him and gave him their coordinates... not that these he required. He stood up from his desk and grabbed his mobile. He was not going to miss out on this opportunity.

*****

[All Pirates within range of the border of Alliance and Imperial space.  Steer clear.  I repeat.  Steer clear.  Do not attempt to take advantage of the chaos.  It is unlikely that you will survive.]

The transmission was sent with a burst of information regarding the enemy to be fought.  Many Pirates thought that this was a prank.  They knew that the Empire was moving to engage in war, they assumed it was with the Alliance, who had also been moving in a strange manner.  Looting fallen ships or finishing off nearly disabled ships would have been their first port of call.  Who knew what delights and advanced weaponry they could salvage!  It's just then they realised this message was from the Sabine.  Doubts still rose.

[If this is true, more advantage to us if we negotiate with the enemy.]

[Naive bastard.  Did you not read the information provided?  What negotiation?]

[I think the Sabine asking us to stay clear is so they can pick clean the area themselves!]

[You dare provoke Captain Maerlon?  Fool!]

[The Sabine is honest.  They've saved our arses plenty!  Have you forgotten the attempted raid sixteen years ago?]

[That was sixteen years ago!  Who remembers such ancient history!]

[I think the claims about the enemy are true.  We were in solar system J930, passing through and we pictured this orbiting the sixth world Zydeco. Image Attached.]

[WTF is that thing?!  Are you suggesting the Imperials are gonna face that fucker?]

[It's three times the size of a Warship, the Imperials are doomed.  We should jump ship.]

[And go where?  If it downs the Empire, the League will be next.]

The channel remained silent for a bit.

[Should we fight?]

[I say that we see how the Imperials handle it.  After all, we can always finish it off once it's weakened.]

[Pirates save the day!]

[Stop drinking, fuckers, it's too early in the day for your idiocy.]

*****

Law was feeling moody and Luck was expressing his melancholy.  Both boys sighed.  Jezmi immediately came over to offer them comfort.  "Aw, it's okay, I'm here now," she told them.  "You can cheer up!"

"You do realise that my sons are sixteen not six, right?"  The Captain muttered after scanning the secret network.  Why was the average pirate IQ of this generation so low?  He'd spoken personally with the old crew, Captain Cheney, Captain Tuluse and Captain Fen Xiang.  Naturally they needed some convincing that he hadn't switched sides and gone law abiding, but they understood the situation.  What they decided to do would be their own decisions. 

"I know that!  But can't you tell that they were missing me, while I was working?" Jezmi insisted, causing the gruff man to snort aloud.

"What working?  You sent some messages that was all," he replied.

"Don't worry, Aunt Jezmi," Luck murmured in reassurance.  "We were not missing you."  The Captain attempted to hide his sniggers behind his hand as the woman's face fell.  She glared at him, making him laugh harder.

"Has Guran come out of his room yet?"  Law asked suddenly.

"No," Jezmi replied, personally thinking that this was a good thing.  No matter his intentions, he was still the enemy after all.  She grudgingly accepted that the young man's plan made sense, but it did not mean that they were not all heading for a trap.  Even the Captain had said her thought was not flawed, but rejected it saying that invasion force had not been small.  Why trap a small ship like there's when they had the ability to blast through fifty ships like they were tin cans?

Law sighed once more causing Zee to question; "Why does it bother you so much?"

"Doesn't bother me," Law denied, not meeting his eyes.

Zee thought about it for a moment and a wide grin appeared on his face.  He sidled up to Law and leaned close.  "Hey, is he your type?"  Law and Luck both blushed simultaneously.

Jezmi's sharp hearing caught the words.  Type?  What does he mean by that?  But before her mind could figure out an answer, she received an incoming message from Aldon.  He wanted to go over their plans.  With a sigh, she rose and took the call privately.