XVII-32043-β:Legatus stood inside the Arboretum's geodesic dome, fixing his uniform for the fourth time. Fidgeting, he paced the smooth metal surface that was the orbital space station's floor.

It was just a routine meeting with the Consilium, nothing more. He had nothing to worry about, nothing to hide, or so he desperately convinced himself.

Moments later, the Apoadeid Consilium phased into sight, plugged into his hovering mobility chair as always. Lacking organic appendages of any kind, he relied on the chair’s four protruding mechanical arms to manipulate nearby objects. The Legatus had always wondered how it felt to remain trapped in such a contraption for most of his life, unmoving.

The Consilium's thick leathery neck protruded from the mass, but instead of a face, a metal faceplate adorned with a red visor was fused directly onto his hide. A common configuration for the Apoadeid, one of the three founding races of the Dyn.

Thick hide tendrils fell down the back of its neck like organic dreadlocks, adorned with glowing rings of many colors—proof of his many accomplishments. With mottled hide and a shape that resembled a thick cone, one would think this fat lump would be of no import, yet that was the furthest from the truth.

For this was a Consilium of Ubiquity Prime, second in authority only to the Forum of Primes.

“Legatus,” he belched with a grating, modulated voice. “This is the first I have seen you in this place. I take it your Zevans find these surroundings attractive?” The hover chair spun as the Consilium craned his leathery neck to look up at the giant blue planet that loomed above.

“Yes Consilium,” the Legatus said, lowering his head in deference, “as you noticed, we are aboard the space station 78-234, in low orbit around planet IV-3259, the home of the Zevan. This arboretum contains a sampling of the various flora found on the planetside. It helps to keep the air here clean while providing a nice view for the Dyn stationed here.”

“Curious. Yet not to my liking, sadly.”

They walked together for a moment in silence before the Consilium spoke once again. “If I recall, you are grooming a male of your kind, are you not? As always I struggle to understand your strange customs, but this brings you pleasure, yes?”

“Very much, Consilium. Raising my son has been one of the greatest joys in my life. I am humbled that you remembered him.”

“I am glad to hear it. I have no doubt he will grow to contribute as much to our cause as you have. Now come, we have much to discuss, and my time is short.”

“As you wish, Consilium.” The Legatus gestured towards a path through the artificial forest.

“First, I would like an update on the progress of the Zevan indoctrination.”

“Yes, Consilium. The indoctrination proceeds according to design. While the lesser beasts are easily and rapidly converted, they prove to be of only limited use in combat.”

“We had predicted as much. What of the Zevan and their Magic?” He scoffed as if to refute the existence of such a ludicrous thing.

“Yes, that is the term the locals use. We continue to study its mysteries, and while progress towards a scientific underpinning is slow, we have learned how to leverage their abilities in combat. The results are quite promising.”

“I am happy to hear it. The Forum of Primes has decided to move up the timetable.”

The Legatus’ eyes widened in surprise, “Ubiquity Prime managed to convince the Forum to let him?”

“Indeed, our glorious leader biases towards action far more than the others. The third planet of System L-1138 continues to develop and advance. The time has come for the culling. Yet space is vast,” the Consilium said while eyeing the various trees as he hovered.

Clearing the bile from his throat, he continued, “As the Dyn continue to expand into the Milky Way and beyond, logistics are become an increasingly insurmountable concern, even with the Transit Gateway Network. Deploying Seed ships to the far reaches of space has proven to be unworkable. We need more forward operating bases, and sheer force in numbers.”

“I understand, Consilium. Though Ubiquity Prime wishes to leverage the indoctrinated to assault L-1138, it is a pity to lose the seed world for the Zevan. It will hinder our prospects for any further Ultimator candidates in this area, and potentially set back our magic research.”

“It is true, but Ubiquity Prime considers it an acceptable loss, and so it shall be. He wishes to initiate the Reaping within a year’s time.”

“Just one year?” The Legatus panicked. “I’m afraid we will need more time! We’ve only just begun to weaponize Zevan magic. Without further improvements, they risk being useless in battle.”

“Then accelerate your research, Legatus. Ubiquity Prime has greenlit an unlimited budget for this project. Take as many researchers as you need. Surely you are not lacking in Zevan, you have an entire planet full to reap after all,” he croaked as his hover-chair extended a mechanical limb up towards the planet.

The Legatus shook his head. “If we kidnap any more Zevan, we may very well have a mutiny on our hands. Our relationship with the locals is tenuous as it is.”

“Legatus, you did not come into your position by chance. It was earned through determination and perseverance. You will find a way to deliver the Prime’s army on schedule. These primitives pose no threat to us.”

“I understand, Consilium. I will deliver,” he said, bringing a fist to his chest as he dropped to his knees in deference.

“Good. There are a few other developments I would like to bring to your attention. As it pertains to the future of the Dyn, I trust you to keep it in absolute confidence.”

“Of course, Consilium,” the blonde-haired Dyn responded, navigating his way around a low-hanging vine. They had walked far into the Arboretum where its tall trees formed a dense canopy, darkening the area such that the only light came from the strips embedded along the pathway. It made for quite a believable recreation of the Zevan homeworld, though the Legatus was far too nervous to appreciate it at this moment.

“First, as you know, tensions have been rising in the Forum. The other eight continue to go against our own Ubiquity Prime, and his feud with Jeyes Prime has reached new heights.

“Meanwhile Vowron Prime pushes his fleet to the outer reaches of the Andromeda Galaxy in the hopes of becoming the sole member of the Founding Forum to lay claim to that galaxy. We can safely ignore that crazy fool.”

“Yes Consilium, I understand.”

He paused to glance at the nearby waterfall before continuing, “Jeyes Prime is our real concern, though I doubt you will encounter any interference from his forces this deep inside the Milky Way. Once we secure the Human homeworld, he will have no recourse but to retreat.”

“I see now why Ubiquity Prime wants to accelerate his schedule. It would seem that the Forum is less stable than I had thought.”

“Indeed, these are dark times for the Dyn. None of the others have acted out thus far, but if they do, we will be facing a full-blown galactic feud. It would set us back by centuries. Legatus, I fear that it is only a matter of time.”

“I swear to you Consilium, I shall not let Ubiquity Prime down.”

The Consilium went silent for a moment, then spun his hover-chair around and locked his visor with the Legatus’ eyes. “As the rulers of our society, we must be the bastions of perfection. You have proven yourself a capable leader, and I know you have been aiming for a position on the Consili. Succeed in this initiative, and the title of Consilium will be yours. I will vouch for your candidacy myself.”

“I am beyond words.”

The Apoadeid nodded his thick neck, “The Dyn above all.”

“The Dyn above all,” the Legatus echoed.

The Consilium’s holo-projection winked out of sight, leaving the Legatus standing alone in the middle of the forest. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d held. To think that the balance of the Forum may very well hinge on his efforts! The pressure threatened to send him into a panic, but he soon collected himself; this was not the first time he had led such an operation. The Indoctrination wasn’t what concerned him. It was that damned traitor who had somehow slipped right through their fingers. If the Consilium ever found out…

He walked to the exit of the Arboretum and summoned his aide, who as usual, appeared within an instant. To this day, he had no idea how she managed such impressive responsiveness.

Despite her mechanical appearance, she very much was a female. Belonging to a Dyn-acquired race called the Qephyx, she resembled a perfectly round glossy-black metal sphere, replete with various antennae and appendages that deployed upon demand. Lacking eyes, a mouth, or facial features of any kind, one could easily mistake them for some kind of floating drone. Yet their spherical housing was merely a shell, an armor that contained a carbon-monoxide-rich atmosphere in which their organic body resided, bonded to their technological skin.

“Legatus?” Came her synthesized, feminine voice.

Ushering her into his office, he asked, “How goes the search for that bitch?”

“We are monitoring the Artificer’s every moment via the Insights global satellite network,” the aide rattled off in an emotionless monotone, “however, subduing her has proven challenging without mobilizing our heavier forces. She rides a tamed Vairo-Syken that moves thrice as fast as our Chariots’ maximal velocity, though our recent retrofits should help in that area. She also has some type of radar interference ability, forcing us to rely on visuals. In addition, the Vairo-Syken has proven capable of destroying our craft.”

“I wonder. Did we identify the one seen traveling with her? Is she controlling an Ultimator?”

“No sir, all of the Indoctrinated are accounted for, and it is impossible for the Uninitiated to display such powers. We have not had such an opportunity to identify the male she is traveling with.”

“Ridiculous. Despite all of our overwhelming technology, you’re telling me we can’t catch one girl?”

“Sir, only our Hasta interceptors can outpace her Vairo-Syken with ease, but as short-range parasite craft, they must be launched from a Tensa mothership. As you are aware, the Chariots are built primarily for intimidation and peacekeeping, not pursuit.”

It wasn’t just that, no. Everything had seemed to go wrong this past week. Orders were mysteriously lost, Chariots were sent to completely wrong positions. It all reeked of inside manipulation, of Resistance meddling.

“If only this planet had a real Dyn military presence,” he muttered, “any one of our orbital assault weapons would have done the job.”

“Shall we deploy the Tensa? Of the four stationed on this planet, one can be mobilized immediately.”

“No, I cannot field our capital ships without Consili approval, and I would rather not worry them by requesting reinforcements. We shall make do with the forces we have here for now. How go the Chariot retrofits?”

In truth, if this blunder ever reached the ears of the Consilium, he could kiss his promotion goodbye, or worse. No, this had to be handled discreetly. Deploying the Tensas, or even the Chariots en masse, was bound to eventually reach the Consilium’s ears. He may have gotten away with the show of force at Kyron, but actually sending them all out would not be in his best interests.

“Finished, Legatus. The retrofitted Chariots boast over double their previous maximal velocity, and shedding their heavy armor has further improved upon that.”

“Recall all but the retrofitted Chariots; we need to be smarter about this. I take it you have already simulated all possible flight vectors?”

“Yes sir. We have already taken into account both the animal’s and the Artificer’s behavior and have placed Chariots at key locations. Between Insights and the Chariot’s sensors, we shall ambush the—”

The Legatus glanced at her when she stopped talking, “What’s the matter?”

“I am happy to announce,” she said in her usual deadpan, “that we have trapped them.”

The satisfaction painted upon the Legatus’ face could not be bought with any amount of wealth in all of the worlds.