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<strong>Coalition flagship</strong>

Lotus sat in the commander\'s chair, keeping her expression as calm and professional as possible.

Around her were standing several dozen official guild representatives… and, of course, the five star players who had been assigned to this great mission.

Lotus turned to one of the officers. "Have you been able to establish chat contact with any player on the planet?"

The officer shook his head. "Not yet, Ma\'am. We probably need to get even closer to the planet first."

Lotus nodded. "Okay. Keep trying and let me know when you succeed."

A player rushed into the room to speak to Lotus. If Apophis had been there, he would\'ve recognized him at once.

It was Joker, the star player of the BlackJack guild. Joker also happened to be the sub-commander of the Coalition fleet, as well as the commander of the BlackJack guild fleet. He\'d discovered quite a talent for fleet command and had looked forward to the opportunity to use his skills in this mission.

Joker said, "Commander, I\'m certain that moving any closer will be treated as a hostile maneuver."

Lotus nodded tensely. "I am aware. Unfortunately, we need to get close enough to make contact with the players on the planet. Do your best to keep us safe until then."

***

<strong>Imperial flagship</strong>

On the command deck, Azerof was lost in thought when Admiral Hazh approached again. "The enemy fleet has not obeyed. They continue to close in on the planet. What are your orders?"

Azerof asked, "What are our potential losses if we engage the fleet?"

Hazh said, "Their fleet is mainly made up of corvettes. Our heavier ships would be at little to no risk… but they would certainly be aware of this, and would target our ships with lighter armor and shields. Many of which, of course, have already sustained damage."

Azerof asked flatly, "By how much, Admiral?"

Hazh paused for a moment. "Well, according to the simulator, at least half of our ships will be destroyed. However, there is another problem. These people are Eternals.

"Even if we kill them, they will simply reappear on Terra… the exact place they wish to go. In fact, if the Eternals decide to crash their ships into our battleships and cruisers, they will reappear at their destination and cause catastrophic damage to us.

"In short, Milord, though the Eternal fleet is much weaker than ours, they hold a certain leverage over us. They can afford to heavily punish us for resisting them in a way which perhaps outweighs whatever benefits we might have in destroying their ships."

Azerof glared at the admiral. "Yes, but the Eternals represent an existential threat to the Imperium. You\'re speaking as though the loss of their ships in battle would only be a mild inconvenience.

"But it\'s not as though they can simply purchase new ships once they arrive on the surface. In fact, a constant patrol of bombers could reduce even the strongest of the Eternals to a weakling, no matter how many times they come back."

Admiral Hazh nodded politely. "I understand your point, Milord. Even still, we\'ve already neutralized 10,000,000 of their number. Perhaps at this point, gaining a bit of political capital through diplomacy would offset the threat which these few still pose to our nation?"

***

<strong>Coalition flagship  </strong>

Things had been tense as the fleet edged closer to the planet. At every moment, the odds of the Imperials opening fire were higher and higher.

Yet, when an officer finally spoke up, not a single bolt had been fired. "Finally, we\'ve managed to communicate with some players on the planet!"

Lotus sent a message to Apophis immediately, holding her breath in anticipation.

<strong>System:</strong> The player "Apophis" is unavailable.

Lotus was surprised. "Something is still wrong." She sent a message to Hulk.

Hulk immediately responded. "Guild leader?! What are you doing here?!"

Lotus let out a sigh of relief. At least she could contact someone she could trust. "It is a long story. Let us just say… I\'m bringing the cavalry. What\'s the mission report?"

Hulk was so disciplined that he didn\'t ask for more details. Instead, he gave his report at once. "We succeeded in our mission. We found Apophis\'s crew and Princess Antanria, but on the way, we lost Apophis."

Before another message could come through, Lotus immediately responded, "Lost?!"

A few moments passed before Hulk\'s reply. "He was forced to go aboard Azerof\'s flagship. Since we can\'t contact him, we assume he was captured."

Before the conversation could continue, Emperor Azerof\'s voice came again over the radio.

"You will be allowed to pass and retrieve your men, Commander Lotus. In exchange, I require official recognition of Imperial legitimacy by the Eternal race, including all our territorial claims. In addition, you will submit 100,000 Eternals to Imperial service."

Though Azerof had the overall advantage, it was clear to Lotus that he recognized just how much the Coalition fleet could harm the wounded imperium fleet if they felt like it.

Lotus thought deeply for a few moments. If she negotiated peace with Azerof now, she would have no leverage to free Apophis. How the hell had he gotten himself captured in the first place?!

Joker, standing beside her, said, "I think that sounds like a very good compromise. 100,000 players who want to fight for the Imperium aren\'t very many. Sounds exciting, actually, and I bet we\'d get a lot of volunteers. I really recommend that we accept the offer."

Lotus replied to Azerof over the radio. "We desire the liberation of all captured Eternals. That includes Apophis."

Azerof sounded amused. "Come, now, you\'re asking for more and more when we\'re already being so obscenely generous! You desired the release of all the players on the planet… but Apophis was not captured on the planet."

Lotus\'s blood suddenly ran cold.

Players.

Azerof knew the truth about the Eternals.

Her heart pounded. How much had they underestimated the Imperium?

"Sorry," she said in an icy voice. "That is our condition. Apophis will be released along with all the planetside Eternal prisoners."

The representatives of the other guilds, who were standing close, were not happy. Lotus was really abusing her power here, risking the whole mission for the sake of her own guild member!

Joker said, "Hmmm… We\'ll have to discuss a condition like that before offering an ultimatum…"

But Azerof answered, "You\'re a strong negotiator, Commander Lotus! But I couldn\'t comply even if I wanted to. Unfortunately, Apophis is not on board."

Lotus said in a slow, level voice, "Yet he was captured aboard your ship."

Azerof said, "I don\'t deny it. However, Apophis has passed out of my hands. I delivered him to… someone… who paid a very high price. In wartime, you know, it\'s an emperor\'s duty to sacrifice his personal desires to best serve his nation."

Lotus felt her blood pressure rising at Azerof\'s smug, lazy tone.

"Who is this person?!" she shouted. "Tell me, or I will ram every ship in this fleet into your cowardly little flagship! We will see if the famous Emperor of Mankind can cheat death as well as an Eternal!"

Joker started to sweat a bit, but didn\'t speak up. Surely Lotus was just bluffing.

Azerof said, "I delivered him to the God of justice… Themis."

Lotus was immediately skeptical. Even though the power of the gods had played a role in some battles in Horus so far, this was the first that she\'d heard of a so-called god interacting so directly with mortals.

Besides, who ever heard of a god who bought a person from a mortal? Lotus tries again to contact Apophis.

<strong>System:</strong> The player "Apophis" is unavailable.

Well, for the time being, Lotus would have to believe Azerof\'s claim.

Lotus said, "Very well. We accept your proposal."