When she put it that way, Ves could not easily back away from this challenge.
He already had a history of defying conventional wisdom and realizing the impossible.
That said, he did not direct much attention to this line of thinking. He still needed to complete other ch design projects before he could think about developing an elven Woodsap ch that could resist its own counters.
The clandestine eting soon ca to an end. Calabast possessed a wellspring's worth of intelligence, but much of it was either unverified or trivial.
Ves did not need to know everything, especially now that Casella assud leadership over the Larkinson Clan. The older he beca, the more he ca to appreciate the ability to delegate work to the people led and befriended over the span of many years. He trusted the ace commander to act appropriately on the intelligence collected by the Black Cats.
Before she left, Calabast left another warning behind.
"Do not underestimate the native aliens. The enemy cannon fodder that have been battering our frontlines are not representative of their true strength. Their core defenders exist on another level. Many major alien races have truly woken up at this point. While they have been sending their old and haphazardly upgraded warships out to die, they have also utilized their enormous industrial capacity to construct entirely new lines of modern phasefighters and warships. Their shipbuilders have incorporated many human-derived advancents into their hulls. Hyper technology and E-technology are no longer foreign to them. While their scientists are not as innovative as ours, their numbers are thousands if not millions tis greater than ours. Their adaptation speed is uncommonly fast, especially because of the guidance provided by the cosmopolitans."
"I am already aware of that, Calabast. Do you have anything more specific to tell about the threat we are about to confront?" Ves asked with an annoyed expression.
"In fact, I do, Ves. As you know, the native aliens are badly getting mauled by the mutated voribugs. For whatever reason, the Red Cabal has decided that they need to break the spine of red humanity first, so the major alien races have mobilized their elite warfleets to the Terran front. From the perspective of the alien leaders, instead of letting their best and brightest get consud by an unending tide of cheaply produced space insects, it is better to utilize their potent strength to achieve an ultimate breakthrough. Once they have breached the Terran lines, they hope to trigger a chain reaction that will ultimately drive red humanity back to Bridgehead One."
"That sounds like wishful thinking." Ves looked skeptical. "Many of those elite forces will get wiped out by the Light of Sol. Even if the native aliens manage to overwhelm the Terran defenders despite all of their losses, the Red Ocean Union won't stand by. There are still several more god pilots that can reinforce this flank, and there are also the war planets from the Cybernetic Empire to consider."
Calabast raised a finger. "Ah, but I have yet to ntion the best part. There are signs that the Red Cabal is finally prepared to deploy a greater proportion of their 'native gods' to the frontlines. Not only will greater phase lords and phase whales beco more prevalent, but their leaders may show up as well. You should understand that our entire task force has no chance of defeating a single ancient phase whale."
That caused Ves to grimace. She was unfortunately correct in that. Ancient phase whales not possessed bodies at least as large as moons, but also possessed a large collection of powerful and highly developed phasewater organs!
Even if they still possessed shortcomings in comparison to god pilots, that did not provide any relief to forces that lacked the protection of the latter!
An ancient phase whale possessed the ability to rapidly traverse across space. The True God-level creature could also instantly teleport from one side of a star system to another, or completely trap an entire human fleet in an invisible space cage.
In short, if the combined fleet of Larkinsons and other forces encountered a single ancient phase whale, neither escape nor victory was possible!
Though Ves definitely had to take this threat seriously, he did not let this deter him either.
"We have taken this potential threat into consideration." He said. "While it is true that we may not be able to survive a direct encounter against an ancient phase whale, we just have to work really hard to avoid one in the first place. Much of our preparations entail the seeding of scout vessels and listening devices. The Terrans also have a vested interest in assisting our cause."
Calabast maintained a wary expression. "Gathering intelligence in alien-occupied space is another whole other ga compared to observations within human-occupied space. It is much more difficult to obtain a complete picture in territories where the re presence of humans or human devices invites imdiate retaliation. Ancient phase whales are also difficult to track if they have put down their egos. If they are clever enough to leave their massive honor guards behind and utilize their exquisite mastery over spatial manipulation to obscure their tracks, they can sneak closer to the frontlines without alarming anyone aside from the occasional peers they encounter along the way."
Ancient phase whales could be really sneaky if they wanted to. They possessed many different spatial abilities that could help them prevent detection. This was one of the main reasons why they consistently managed to infiltrate deep into human-occupied space and put a strategically important central star node such as Bridgehead One inside a greater spaceti bubble!
"We have taken this possibility into consideration." Ves said. "I cannot say anything about it due to confidentiality reasons. Just know that if we truly have the misfortune of bumping into a native god that our champions cannot handle, we can still answer with a trump card of our own. The cost of employing this solution is very high, though. It is better if we do not have to resort to such a asure. Just know that without this final guarantee, I would never agree to greenlight the Nesis Campaign so easily."
He truly wanted to inform more people about this contingency plan, but it was of utmost importance that none of the details leaked to the wrong parties.
Ves could only keep his mouth shut and hope that the situation would not deteriorate to this point.
Once Calabast and Eliza bid him good night, he stayed behind for half an hour and finally decided to retire for the night.
Much had happened and he needed to enjoy a proper rest in order to regain a fresh perspective.
As usual, his wife had already slipped into their shared bed first.
When Ves laid down, she turned around and stared into his eyes with a judging expression.
"What is it, honey?" He wearily asked.
"I can recognize that look of yours. That face tells that you have put even more burdens onto your shoulders. I can feel that you have beco more restless than a few hours ago. What happened?"
He sighed. "Let's just say that I have beco more exposed to the truth. Knowing too much can be a burden as well as a blessing. People at my level constantly have to worry about the bigger picture. What I find troubling is that the more we engage in galactic-level affairs, the less attention we can spare to the smaller things in life. A part of regrets that I have beco too high profile too quickly. I am increasingly more convinced that it is not wise for anyone below the age of 100 to beco a tier 2 galactic citizen."
His wife softened her expression sowhat. She gently reached out and brushed her slender palm against his cheek.
"Do not regret your successes. You are absolutely qualified to assu all of those responsibilities. You should not compare yourself to your lessers. I did not go out of my way to break the Wodin Dynasty's traditions and expectations just to marry an inferior boy. I may not agree with every decision you have made, but you have managed to blaze your trail anyway. I trust you, Ves, and I do not do so lightly. Have confidence in yourself."
Though Ves frequently doubted Gloriana's judgnt, he still felt flattered by her unreserved trust. He knew very well that he had made many questionable decisions over the years that had stretched her patience. She would have never tolerated him if she had not shed much of the behavior imparted by her Hexer upbringing.
"Tomorrow is the big day." He told her. "That is the final ti you can choose whether to stay behind with our children. Are you still set on your previous decision?"
His wife actually adopted a hesitant expression, which Ves found odd. The dangers of embarking on the Nesis Campaign was still very great despite all of the preparations he and his allies had made.
No plan survived contact with the enemy. Unforeseen situations could always arrive, and even the best counterasures could fail during critical monts.
The only way to guarantee 100 percent survival was to get escorted by a god pilot, but no matter how important Ves may be, he did not warrant such excessive treatnt.
The Light of Sol was the only real backbone of the Terran defensive lines.
He could not move away for a single day, or else the flood of alien attackers would overwhelm the partially depleted Terran linefighters in fairly quick order.
It would have been a lot better if the Terran Alliance had two god pilots at its disposal, but reality was not so kind.
"I think… I would still like to accompany you." She said. "I cannot bear to separate with our youngest son and daughter, so you will get to enjoy their company as well."
Ves frowned. "I… am not sure whether that is a wise decision, dear. It would greatly reassure if you, Andraste and Marvin return to our old haunt New Constantinople VIII and wait for my return."
"No." Gloriana sounded uncommonly firm this ti. "I have faith in you and our forces. More Larkinson Saints have rallied to us than ever before. The Terrans and the Red Three are all backing us in different ways. This is not a suicide run in my opinion. All of us are living in a dangerous age. If we do not have the courage to brave the dangers of the present, we will fare worse against future threats. This applies to us as well as our children. I believe that Andraste and Marvin will be able to learn valuable lessons in the next few months that they can never acquire in friendly space. Is this not what the Larkinson Clan is all about?"
She made a point that Ves could not easily refute. He had always been an advocate of learning through adversity.
That said, there had to be a limit to how much he could afford to endanger his wife and children, especially when they had little to contribute.
"Our children…"
"Aurelia has remained behind. She has just begun to study how to operate a warship in one of the safest central star nodes in the new frontier. That is enough in my opinion." Gloriana reminded him. "She is our heir. If anything regrettable happens to us… then a part of will be reassured that our bloodline will continue. My handpicked agents from the Larkinson Clan and the Wodin Dynasty will accompany her and manage her inheritance in our stead. My brother Brutus has personally promised that he will dedicate his life to protecting our eldest daughter if she is the only one left of my line."
"..."
Her preparations left him montarily speechless.
She sounded as if a part of her had already assud that the upcoming campaign would go terribly wrong.
Still, he approved of her preparations. It was better to prepare for the worst than to do nothing.
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