“The recycler is over there...”

-From: What Demons find important.

***Outer Rim***

***Levvi Batlin***

“These quarters are for the delegation's private use. Please feel free to do with the space whatever you wish. If there are any complaints, you can always call me or someone else from the staff. In case of casualties, the recycler is at the end of the corridor. Just throw any remains or waste in there, and it will be taken care of.” The little demon points at a rather large hatch, large enough to get a sentient being inside.

I purse my lips and look down at our guide. After my delegation got the initial greetings with Samuel and Minerva over with, they assigned us a personal caretaker. It's the first time that I noticed a significant difference between members of this race. The large ones all look similar, except for slight differences in colouring, or the glowing patterns on their skins. Their horns are also a feature which allows to distinguish them. “Why did you feel that it's necessary to tell us where to get rid of a body? Do you expect any deaths?”

The little, red fellow looks perplexed. “I don't know how you non-demons handle it, but in our culture, people get killed over the slightest conflicts. Don't you duel to the death when you get insulted?”

Ouluk butts into the conversation from behind, totally ignoring any form of etiquette. “So, why are you so small? Are you a different sub-race, or is it because you belong to another caste?”

The little demon blinks, clearly perplexed by the question. “I don't know those words. What's a sub-race, or a caste?” He shakes his head and scratches himself, unaware that the gesture might be rude. The baggy toga which he is wearing looks rough and uncomfortable. “I am a minion, a youngster. When we hatch, we are about this small.” He bends down, indicating a height just beyond his knee.

“All demons start as demonlings, who are barely capable of speech or thought. Then they evolve into young demons, who have a sufficient grasp of speech. We do simple tasks, like maintenance and menial labour.” He points at the guards who are waiting outside. “And after a few years, you grow up to be a full-grown demon. They do the thinking and fighting. Or other complicated... stuff.”

Ouluk gasps. “Child labour!”

The demon looks even more confused. “What's child labour?”

I raise my hand to stop Ouluk. The scientist is asking the right questions, but he is doing it the wrong way. This little fellow's mental capacities seem to be limited, so it will take time to get information out of him. Time which I don't want to spend. “A concept which is probably of no concern to you. We will need some time to settle down in our quarters, but then we would be eager learn more about your people and your culture until your leaders are ready for further negotiations.”

Our guide bows and leaves without further ado.

Ouluk, on the other hand, looks at me with a petulant expression. “Why did you interfere?”

“It's not the right time,” I reply and step aside to allow the rest of the delegation free access to our quarters. Once everyone is inside, I close the door which leads onto the main-corridor with the guards. A quick look at one of the technicians tells me that it's safe to speak. The man studies a device on his wrist and signs me an 'OK', indicating that we aren't spied upon.

Assured, I return my attention to Ouluk. “I want you to get into their computer systems while I study a few updates from the fleet. The more we know, the better our final decision will be. These demons don't seem like they are 'dragging their tails'. If my impression is correct, then I'll have to come to a decision quicker than I want to.

Ouluk grumbles, but he follows my instructions, slowly waddling over to one of the free computer terminals at the wall.

I follow him with my sensory tentacles until I am sure that he will do his job.

Once I am sure that everything is in order, I head to the room which was reserved for me. It's the last one at the left side of the corridor. Upon stepping inside, I don't fail to notice that it's smaller than I am used to, but the furniture and the ceiling are covered in golden pattern, making it look exquisite.

Ignoring the opulence of the room, I step past the bed to the large window which grants a nice view directly into space. I am relatively sure that I am not anywhere near the colony's surface, so this must be a very elaborate trick. Some sort of computer screen. But I digress.

Reaching behind myself, I pull the large tablet from its pocket at my back. It doesn't take long for the device to activate and to connect to central command after sensing my touch.

After making sure that the connection is stable and safe, I call up the latest news regarding the demons and the Cyber. It's a mission report from one of our scouting forces. They encountered a half-finished demon-colony, which is in the process of being built. It's not definitive proof that the demons are new to this region of space, but it makes it clear that they are expanding.

Speeding up the replay speed, I watch the drama unfold. The demons had five large vessels in the system, together with a dozen smaller ships which aren't worth mentioning throughout the conflict. Five large ships should have been enough to deal with a stray scouting expedition, but the Cyber force which came out of nowhere had as much as eighteen large vessels and a handful of support craft.

They entered the system in several different locations, probably to cut off any possible escape attempt. The Cyber clearly knew that their opponent was in the system, but not the exact position. Splitting up their forces ensured that at least a few ships were within striking distance when the fleet arrived.

Had the whole fleet arrived right on top of the Demons, their colony would've been destroyed without much of a fight. It would have been a massacre. But as it stood, only seven capital vessels arrived in the vicinity of the colony.

That's still more than the defenders could handle comfortably, but under the circumstances, those odds were preferable to standing up to the whole Cyber fleet at once.

I watch the conflict unfold as the Demon ships leave the parking positions around their colony and accelerate towards the closest attackers who are in the process of forming up for an attack run.

They won't win the day, especially not after the rest of the Cyber ships join the battle. But they have a decent chance at buying the unfinished colony a few more minutes.

The colony meanwhile, starts accelerating away from a large asteroid which was clearly being exploited in a mining operation. I try to guess the numbers in my head, but if I am not too far off, then taking a huge object like a demon colony into warp is a dangerous task. Not only does it require enormous amounts of energy, but if there is any mass which interferes with the warp emitters, then there could be a catastrophic failure. They would have to get to a respectful distance from anything that could interfere with their drive.

While I am thinking, the ships don't stay idle. The defenders just accelerate towards the seven incoming ships. On their way, they fill the space between them and their enemies with pre-emptive energy blasts and missiles. A seemingly wasteful move, especially because most of those shots will never find their target.

On the other hand, there won't be a second chance if the attackers manage to get past the defenders. The colony is a big and slow target, unable to avoid even the slowest kinetic weapons, so the defenders have to intercept the attackers before they reach effective weapon range.

For that purpose, they have to accelerate towards them, but that makes it impossible to turn around in time if something gets past them.

From that perspective, it makes sense that the defenders are emptying their ammunition supplies in an attempt to destroy the enemy.

The Cyber don't fire a single shot. They engage in defensive measures and evasive manoeuvres, but they hold most of their ordnance in reserve. Only their energy weapons are in use, making it clear that they are holding back to unleash the full force of their deadly payload on the colony.

A Cyber ship goes up in a huge explosion. One of the random shots must have unexpectedly found its target.

Meanwhile, the Demon ships wade through the Cyber's high-power energy lasers like through shallow water, proving that their adaptive armour needs more than a few glancing shots to get through.

I slow the recording down, stretching out an encounter which took mere seconds in real time. Space battles are short and unimpressive in reality. Ships can spend days on acceleration manoeuvres towards an important target and then the battle is decided in the fraction of a second. The fewer ships are involved, the less strategy is necessary, but if a single engagement with the enemy can lose you a whole fleet, then it’s prudent to think of every possible vector.

One of the Demon ships is knocked off-course when suddenly all remaining Cyber vessel focus their lasers on the target.

Antimatter explosions light the space between them and two more Cybers blink out of existence, followed by two Demon ships. They simply disappear in balls of white energy from one moment to the other. Large areas of the recording white-out, indicating that due to interferences the collected sensor data is insufficient.

Two Demon ships emerge from the carnage, but there are still three Cybers left when the sensor noise clears up. I click my tongue in dismay, realizing that I was cheering for the defending party. The crews of the defenders gave it their all, but it won’t be enough. There is no way for them to stop all three ships at this point. They simply don’t have the time before they fly past each other. At least one Cyber will get to the colony.

Then the fusion engines of both Demon ships spew out streams of radioactive energy, lighting up the sensor recordings like lightbulbs. Even though the engagement is slowed down, both ships veer sharply off their paths as their engines overload. It’s obvious that they are being operated above their limits, and are about to melt down as the used energy isn’t only converted to kinetic energy which propels the vessels forward, but also to heat and all sorts of radiation.

I am fairly certain that the crews of both ships are dead by that point, smeared as a thin paste over the surface of their decks, or cooked by the radiation of their own engines.

They unload all their remaining weaponry into the leading Cyber, turning it into a ball of expanding atoms. Then, probably unseen thanks to the sensor interference of all the nuclear weaponry, they plough straight into the remaining two Cyber ships.

And then all that’s left are clouds of expanding ions and wreckage.

I fast forward five minutes until the colony asteroid activates its warp-drive, leaving behind the defending Demon ship which was knocked off-course earlier. The vessel was likely damaged heavily because they were drifting freely ever since.

When the incoming Cyber fleet changes course to intercept the wreck, it disappears in a huge explosion, a self-destruct mechanism from what it seems.

Frowning and deep in thought, I stare out of the fake-window in front of me. What should I think of people who fight and die like that? What’s driving them?