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"...And our forces are currently failing to retake Volgograd." said a sthara admiral. He pointed at a holographic icon emitting from the table, then stared directly at his empress. "It looks like the humans are excelling at urban warfare. They have a multitude of options when it comes to engaging our forces, who need specialized equipment to counter them. It's very close quarters combat overall. You see, one human might not be too dangerous by themselves… but like an insect… a swarm of them can suddenly become dangerous if you try to dislodge them from their homes!"

Unimpressed by the admiral's explanation, Jenessa the third sneered. "Then send in more umok auxiliaries to lead the way for our warriors!"

The collection of officers present at the table looked away, rubbed their eyes, or sighed.

"That may... prove to be complicated." said the admiral, scratching behind one of his pointy ears.

Jenessa huffed and puffed before leaning forward. "Why would it be? The gentle but firm approach has failed. Brute force has ALWAYS been an option against these stubborn fools!" She slammed a fist on the table for emphasis. "We outnumber and outgun them!"

Turras looked at the floor. "My empress…"

"SAP forces are heavily harassing our supply lines." hissed a zenari admiral.

"They've also started deploying more ground forces on Earth," continued Admiral Turras, "Hence why we're seeing combined human and SAP efforts halting any offenses by our warriors. Regions such as Siberia, Canada, and Scandinavia have proven to be especially problematic due to the extremely cold conditions and difficulties of operating on the ground… not to mention those areas becoming concentrations of human resistance and outright SAP beachheads."

The empress narrowed her eyes. "What sort of difficulties?"

"Well, the humans are warm-blooded." explained the admiral. "We're not. Then there's the joraxians and their bizarre biology…"

"And?"

Admiral Turras closed his eyes as his tail swayed behind him. "As I said… logistics. The humans hardly have any infrastructure in colder areas. Our warriors need to stay warm. There's only so many ships and soldiers we can bring to this solar system too… which is why some units are low on ammo, fuel, and other energy sources."

Ignoring his words, Jenessa's golden eyes glazed over the holographic map, focusing on the far east. More specifically, Siberia. A slim majority was still under human control, but their estimated territory recently expanded as the map indicated gains past the Ural mountains and into Asia. Cities once under firm Hegemony control now had circles surrounding them, indicating pockets of human resistance, most of which were in west Russia.

"Ah… and what in the name of my ancient ancestors is going on in this so-called Siberia?" asked Jenessa as she looked at each of her underlings one by one. "Anyone?"

"The humans initially made a successful counterattack." answered another officer. "Nearby ground forces were repositioned to deal with the problem, weakening our garrisons, and resulting in rebellions among the occupied human settlements within the general vicinity."

"Then there's the nukes…" muttered Admiral Turras.

Jenessa blinked a few times. "My personal vanguard was deployed nearby and ordered to spearhead an assault directly into Siberia. Did they become trapped behind enemy lines? Worse yet… were they SOMEHOW unable to repel the human forces?"

Nothing but silence filled the room… and a few officers broke eye-contact with their empress.

Turras gradually held a clenched fist in front of his torso. "I was just about to get to that, my empress. Even the vanguard suffered heavy losses when the humans used nuclear weapons against their positions, including a detonation dangerously close to the perimeter of one of their own cities."

"Do you mean to tell me that the vanguard was still at their base camp when the attack occurred?" asked Jenessa as she tapped her claws against the table.

"...Yes." hesitantly hissed Turras.

Suddenly, Jenessa stood from her seat and snarled. "And WHY exactly were my orders not followed?!"

"The vanguard did not have the proper resources or support to stage an offensive!" answered Admiral Turras as his tail slumped down.

"TURRAS! The Hegemonic Vanguard is the best of the best! True daughters of our royal bloodlines! They have some of the highest quality equipment money can buy, including irreplaceable precursor weapons! Yet… YOU… of all people… presumably went directly against the will of your great empress by failing to relay those instructions… causing catastrophic casualties among my most elite warriors as a direct result!"

Turras's ears folded down. "Not... not necessarily..."

"IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME SOMEONE DISOBEYED MY ORDERS EITHER!" she roared, balling her hands into crimson fists.

Admiral Turras didn't say anything in return as he glanced at the ground.

Following a few long moments, Jenessa slowly slumped back down into her chair and spoke in a low tone. "What kind of leader am I if my own subjects do not obey my commands? This entire operation was meant to secure a stronghold and resources for any fights against the Solar Atlas Pact. A way to earn respect and prestige right after my coronation ceremony. Instead? A complete blunder. Humiliating! The first empress to personally lead a fleet in centuries, just to fail at fighting a bunch of tiny primitives… and I do not know what is worse… my own admirals and generals overriding my authority or the useless umok auxiliaries dying in droves..."

One of the rare umok present within the group crossed his arms and chirped. "What were you expecting to happen? You give my people little to no training alongside outdated or inferior equipment, then send them to die in idiotic assaults."

Jenessa scoffed. "Maybe if your species was not composed of cowards and incompetents breeding like vermin, you would receive better gear."

The umok adjusted his eye patch as he gave the empress a death stare, albeit with his only good eye. "Really? You're almost a teenage girl without anything along the lines of military training, much less attendance at a naval academy... yet, here you are... playing the role of warrior queen. No wonder this entire invasion has been a complete disaster!"

As the umok uttered these words, a few jaws went agape. Others covered their mouths. Jenessa herself smiled for a brief moment before her face scrunched up, then she pointed at the umok with a clawed finger.

"I want him thrown out of the nearest airlock."

The room remained stunned at her response, and guards flanking the empress looked at one another.

"NOW!"

With that, the guards rapidly apprehended the umok officer, who didn't bother resisting. He just stared directly at Jenessa with nothing but disdain in his eyes. His squawking and chirping briefly echoed around the room as zenari warriors escorted him away, all while the stunned onlookers did nothing but listen...

"Go on ahead, you incompetent brat! Make me a martyr! You-!"

A door slamming shut interrupted the umok, returning the room to a state of empty silence.

Simultaneously, Jenessa shook her head. "What a weakling. While I am at it, I have an announcement to make!" She pressed a button, resulting in the activation of a microphone as an orange light flashed on. "Attention... everyone. Due to the incompetence of our umok allies during this operation, their various client states are being annexed. All of them will be directly incorporated into our Hegemony rather than a select few solar systems near our territory. Consider that an official decree!"

The empress then smiled and watched on with smug satisfaction as guards threw the umok man out of an airlock. A camera captured him flailing and gasping before transmitting the footage to one of many electronic screens. Without any protection, he didn't last for long as he drifted into cold, dead space… all while Earth orbited a glaring yellow sun with plenty of other ships in the background.

At the same time, Turras approached Jenessa again. "Um… my empress...."

"Yes?"

"The umok are likely not going to respond well to that proclamation and the abrupt execution of a well-known war hero..."

Jenessa made a dismissive wave with a clawed hand. "Bah. What are they going to do? Rebel? That worked out so well for them last time!"

"...And you made that announcement through the ship's intercom, so it wasn't a transmission of any variety if that was your intention."

"Then have someone deliver my proclamation immediately, Admiral Turras! Redeem yourself with a simple task, at the very least! I swear, if my orders are not followed to the letter from this point forward, that umok will be far from the last one getting executed!"

He broke eye contact before baring his fangs. "As you wish..."

Shortly after Turras began walking away, a familiar sight abruptly filled the electronic screens…

INCOMING MESSAGE!

"We're receiving another transmission from the SAP fleet!" announced a technician.

The empress directed her attention to the assembly of officers still standing around the table. "Consider yourselves dismissed. Just simply call for more reinforcements and send more ground forces to deal with the humans and the joraxian opportunists assisting them." She spun her chair to face the largest monitor behind her. "Your empress has more important matters to attend to!"

Silently, the officers departed the scene one by one.

This left Jenessa to her own devices as her personal guards returned to their previous positions. "Now... accept the transmission!"

Immediately, the screen flashed to show a live feed. King Dolus filled the screen. His feet were lazily propped on a table, showcasing a couple of pink paws and accompanying toe beans thanks to his minimalistic outfit. Two tails swished from behind his chair, enhancing the smug look on his face. Last but not least, he had his arms behind his back while his blue eyes darted between a hologram of Earth and Empress Jenessa, right before he finally focused on her.

"DOLUS!" he shouted out of nowhere. Afterward, Dolus laughed to himself before slightly sticking out his tongue. "Ah, sorry. You've done that the last two times we decided to talk and I felt the need to beat you to it!"

Jenessa didn't even grace him with a greeting as she venomously hissed. "Hence why I hesitated to accept the transmission. Regardless, what do you want this time? Peace negotiations?"

"Hah! No..." he replied with a low growl. "I just wanted to clarify some things about this whole conflict."

"Such as what?"

Dolus fiddled with an electronic device similar to a smartphone, averting his eyes away from her. "For starters... are we at war? You're sort of invading my territory."

Empress Jenessa chortled in response. "Bah! Your territory?"

"Yeah! We've been over this. Personal demesne and all of that. That would make this entire flare-up a defensive war if you're invading SAP territory, right?"

"Of course not!" she roared. "Your claim is not remotely legitimate!"

He scrunched up the toes on one foot, exposing some cyan-colored claws. "Unfortunately, that's similar to what the mactarians said. I need an excuse for them to honor our defensive alliance, really. That's all!"

"If anything else, Dolus, you are the one going on the offensive by interfering in matters that are none of your concern!"

"Oh, please!" said Dolus, rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't exactly call your invasion of another planet right on our border none of my business! Hells, the only reason why I didn't snag the planet myself was due to a few people on my council opposing the mere idea. Apparently, we'd just be as bad as you if we interfered in the affairs of non-space faring species or something…"

She practically facepalmed at his words. "Why would you even want Earth, anyway?"

"Other than the whole complicated geopolitical and strategic implications… HUMANS ARE JUST WAY TOO CUTE!" His tails involuntarily wagged. "I can already picture human personal servants brushing my two tails! Oh, and using their smaller islands as military bases. Maybe even vacation homes. Iceland, for instance, looks like an excellent place to build my own personal palace, where I'd get to enjoy its breathtaking northern lights!"

"You… have to be joking."

Dolus made a sly smile. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Who cares? Either way, it's better than letting you have this planet. If the mactarians honored their agreement, I'd be preparing to dismantle your unholy Hegemony... once and for all." He leaned a little towards the camera and bared his fangs, exposing a series of sharp and pearly white teeth. "I'd love nothing more to get my hands on you for an in-person conversation too!"

Something about his stare, where his black sclera matched the color of the demonic horns on his head, made Jennessa shudder before she regained her composure. "Then... are we at war if you are too cowardly to declare one after attacking my forces completely unprovoked?"

"Technically? No. We both know the first one to declare war loses. If you do it, the mactarians get involved. Then I win. However... if I'm the aggressor? They won't support me at all and you'll annihilate the Solar Atlas Pact through sheer numbers, so it's quite the predicament. Knowing how hot-headed and brash you are, I was hoping you'd be stupid enough to declare war before I sent the audio recording to the mactarians, so now I'm not sure what to do."

A fit of anger finally rose and burst from the empress as she roared. "Ah... AND I'D LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO CAPTURE A DEVIANT LIKE YOU BEFORE BOILING YOU ALIVE AND FLAYING YOUR CORPSE SO THAT I HAVE A FINE NEW RUG... but... it's not worth the price."

"I just LOVE your energy!" said Dolus as he laughed. From there, he finally sat up and set his smart device aside, giving Jenessa his full attention. "You sure you don't wanna meet up somewhere private?" He bit his lower lip. "You know… to get it all out of our systems? I feel a bunch of tension between us and that seems like the only sensible way to relieve it."

Jenessa made a look of complete disgust. "What are you implying?"

"I'm just saying that not all zenari are bad looking, you know? We're both young anyway. No risk of kiddos either since we're different species!"

At his words, the empress slammed her fists against her armrests. "Are you just going to waste my time with your usual antics and perversions, or are we done here? As far as I'm concerned, this is an undeclared war of sorts… an armed response? It matters not, but we will engage any SAP forces in this solar system."

"Whatever." muttered Dolus. "I'd call it more of a policing action to enforce interstellar law and stuff."

"So… as expected, absolutely nothing was accomplished by speaking to you, and now we find ourselves at an impasse."

"I suppose." he replied.

"Then I will be cutting off communications. Farewell."

"Wait, WAIT!" exclaimed Dolus, scrambling up from his seat. "I still have some urgent matters to discuss!"

Jenessa's tail swayed a little as she tilted her head up. "Due to your immaturity, I believe your goal is to get some sort of angry reaction out of me and nothing else."

A hologram popped up next to Dolus, showcasing Earth as Dolus pointed at one particular island. "Humans call this one the emerald isle!" He briefly touched Ireland with a clawed finger, making it flicker a little. "Apparently, the humans living there have a reputation for being very lucky, so it'd be an excellent site for another one of my vacation homes!"

The empress growled before fiddling with some controls next to her seat.

Dolus's tails perked up as he concentrated on Greenland. "Then there's this one! I want it too! It'd be excellent for military purp-"

In the end, the joraxian king got cut off alongside the transmission itself.

From there, Jenessa rotated her chair to face her underlings once again. "I want more ships. More warriors! They'll have to pry this planet from my cold claws before I ever give it up! None of their empty words, threats, and trickery shall suffice... ONLY BLOODSHED AND PLASMA FIRE!"

As before, the ship remained silent… and the future remained uncertain as more SAP soldiers covertly made landfall and other fleets arrived to reinforce both factions.

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First Chapter

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