The magitons had assembled for the war council. The room was of moderate size and could hold around a hundred humanoids, half as many if not in human configuration. The garwolvens were cast in their true form and stayed together in a pack aside from the rest of the elders, most of whom were in human mode. The only other exception was a four member team from the elite female fighting unit.

Bethon still sported his vestigial tusks. He stepped up to the dais to begin the meeting. He addressed the room which was growing restless. "We will begin as soon as my special guests arrive." He leaned over to whisper to Colonel Munaci. "The Beldorians better show up."

Munaci gave a brief bob of his head to assure Bethon all would proceed as planned, "I paid Anakron a visit earlier. He confirmed they will be here." He had no sooner spoken that the party in question made their appearance.

Lord Anakron entered, followed by Widhbo and a newly minted Nova. He was a large cat, standing almost three feet at the shoulder with a sleek black coat and golden eyes. He walked close beside Widhbo wearing the guardchev, wary of his new surroundings. He growled softly when passing the admiral.

"He doesn't like you, Admiral. I think it's his animal instincts kicking in," Widhbo said.

"He doesn't have to like me." Bethon said. "Colonel Munaci, see if you can tune the translator system for the primitive feline."

"Its working fine, Admiral. I believe that was actually a growl. No words in it," Munaci replied.

Anakron smiled to himself and ignored the interchange. They found a section of seats between the garwolvens and Lieutenant Cratus. All but Cratus immediately set to gossiping about the leopard. Nova's guardchev starting whirring as the elders tried to penetrate the mind of this newcomer among them. It elicited a murmur of surprise when they noted the guardchev adorning yet another primitive from Beldora.

The garwolvens became restless and began pacing. Tajlon was glad not to be the center of attention this time as he watched from within Nova through the leopard's eyes. The elders would only see Nova.

"Come to order. The fourteen thousandth six hundred and fifty third meeting of the war council will now commence." Bethon announced. "A warm welcome to Lord Anakron and his subjects."

"I am honored to be your subject, Lord Anakron," Widhbo whispered. "I doubt I would have been invited otherwise."

"Nonsense. You are here on your own merits." Anakron said.

Bethon waited until they were seated to continue. "I have briefed everyone on our skeletal plan. We will use the leopard to lure the devourer close to the black hole in center of the Tor Galaxy. We must then devise a way to shove him past the event horizon. Please review the report files I have given each of you. I will now throw open the floor to any who would offer specifics."

Widhbo began some light preening, looking bored.

Yoeke, leader of the garwolvens, spoke first. "We have already volunteered to scout for the BakoNaat ships. Why not let us handle that threat and let others here deal with the devourer."

"It will take our combined efforts where the demon is concerned," Bethon said.

"We don't care to work with the leopard beast," Yoeke said bluntly. His companions grew restless and snarled.

"What you do or don't care about has no bearing on my decision. We will operate in the most efficient manner to deal with the threat. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Admiral," Yoeke said and shrank back into the pack. "I was only stating our preferences."

"I only want to hear of your contributions to this mission," Bethon said. He walked up and down the ranks of those present, stopping in front of the tall, long-necked creatures. "What of the tasmaroos?

Josie, leader of the tasmaroos, came forward. "We are here to offer our services in reconnaissance. Our vessles have the best stealth technology in the galaxy. Our weaponry is effective but primarily designed for defense."

The room fell silent. Widhbo continued to preen. Nova sat proudly in his chair, the guardchev spinning. The guardchev had aroused the curiosity of the entire room by this point, but Tajlon noticed the admiral looking closely at it. One guardchev was a rarity, two awarded within a short time, unparalleled. Tajlon thought it likely that Bethon would suspect it really belonged to him, not Nova.

"I have a comment, Admiral," Lieutenant Cratus stated. "It's more of a presentation actually."

Bethon acknowledged him. "Go ahead, Lieutenant. You have the floor."

"There has been some dispute among us as to the existence of demons. In the majority of instances the so-called demon can be proven to be nothing more than a miscreant whose reputation had been embellished by superstition," Cratus said. "If I may be so bold, for purposes of objective analysis, I think we should entertain the possibility this demon could be authentic."

The elders conferred with some debate among themselves. Bethon finally raised a hand. "Proceed, Lieutenant."

Cratus stood up to continue. "Many rumors have been started by our own activities on adopted planets, either purposeful or through deception. I mention this simply to clarify I am excluding these instances from further discussion." His statement caused some discontent among some elders.

Cratus continued. "The behavior of the demon known as the devourer is quite different from the other villainous creatures we have encountered. I consulted with one of my colleagues who has a special interest in demons and has even studied their kind under the ancients at the Tor Academy. Of all the recorded cases on file, the sort of activity we have witnessed is unique. In summary, I propose that if we can discover why his behavior is so erratic and unnatural, we could find the key to destroying him." Cratus sat back down

"Excellent point. Any ideas?" Bethon asked. Anakron stood in response. "Lord Anakron. Please share your thoughts on the matter."

“I too have done some research. May I begin with what is known about this category of creatures at the present time?” Anakron asked.

Bethon nodded in approval. He used his gavel to call the elders back to attention.

Anakron continued, “Demons previously encountered are often dark energy beings, very chaotic in nature. Their actions are not particularly organized. When they randomly bump into other creatures, it is not a planned attack such as we are seeing here. It is true they are unprincipled and greedy, often prone to conflict, but they have never acquired this level of focus and concentration. Some do seek power, but they certainly don’t stalk their prey across light years. With some noxious stimulant they can be convinced to move on. Think of simple attraction vs. avoidance behavior.” He paused to let the others contemplate his words.

Tajlon spoke to Anakron telepathically. Nova and I have a theory, if we may speak."

"You may. Consider Nova and yourself the equal to anyone here," Anakron replied telepathically. "Remember you are now a godling by order of Balevendro. You have been recognized by the ancients. The elders have to listen."

"I would like to contribute," Nova spoke in a silky voice, but loud enough to be heard over the general chatter.

"The leopard has the floor," Bethon said. A hush fell over the room.

Nova stood up to address the elders. "He's not a common demon but an ancient fractured entity who accidentally wound up on Beldora. He struggled to survive and managed to stay alive on the ship which lay on the bottom of our ocean for almost a century before it was salvaged.”

Lieutenant Cratus was particularly attentive and taking notes. Nova’s unexpected sophistication had captivated all of the elders. Bethon propped his hands on the lecturn, and stared solemnly at the big cat.

Nova continued, “True, part of him found its way into Jejliard Castonea, but Jejliard was still mortal when it entered his body. This thing is a hybrid of man, machine, and chaos. I fear that when Jejliard died a mortal man on board the Sora, the thing possessing him was severely affected when it experienced mortality and death first hand. In conclusion, I believe the mixing of the mortal and immortal from different dimensions has has caused it to react in an unpredictable way." Nova finished and returned to his seat.

"Present that idea to your colleague, Lieutenant. See what he makes of it," Bethon said.

"I intend to, Sir. I have also been studying the planet, Beldora, and recall that the Castoneas come from a lineage of fierce warrior kings. They conquered the entire civilized world of Beldora and were highly aggressive in their day. This could have a bearing on the demon's personality and intent."

Bethon nodded. “Anything else?” Nova raised a paw. Bethon acknowledged him, “Yes?”

“Jejliard was a noble leader and a pillar of morality until he was corrupted by the demon. It destroyed his humanity a little at a time and finally drove him insane. After Jejliard died, the demon overtook his persona completely. The last thing I remember was the moment it possessed me. I can’t recall anything from that point on. I’ve been told I was used to kill my friends and many others on board the Sora."

The full impact of what Nova said, hit Tajlon off guard. The gut reaction caused him to phase past Nova and flicker into view momentarily. Widhbo coughed loudly and rustled about in his seat to distract the attention of the elders

Lord Anakron joined in. "The devourer has properties never seen before. This demon has devolved into a creature of primeval darkness and elemental force. There can be no reasoning with it. It will respect no truce or boundaries. We must destroy it before grows so large that it threatens the entire galaxy.”

The room was silent as everyone processed the meaning of all they had heard.

"Have you nothing to contribute, Widhbo?" Bethon asked.

Widhbo stopped his preening and smoothed a few feathers before answering. "I agree with my fellow Beldorians. We can taunt this demon with Nova and lead him to our target. That should be relatively easy. Propelling him past the event horizon without entering it ourselves will be more difficult. The devourer may be chaotic, but he has absorbed the combined intelligence of many sentient creatures. I predict he will try to draw us in with him or worse, cling to us out of desperation. We only have one chance. If we fail the first time, he won't fall for the same trick twice."

"If there is no more formal presentations, the floor is open for discussion," Bethon announced.

"To push him anywhere we need to train a highly focused energy beam on him, but we are dealing with a cloud," Cratus said. "How can we compress him into a manageable size?"

"You know how to catch space skulkers," Widhbo offered. "The cloud must be full of energy, which I understand they love to eat. Perhaps they would find the demon appetizing."

"We know where their nests are in this vicinity," Munaci offered. "We could hunt and collect them, let them feed on the demon, then use an energy attractor to concentrate and confine them."

The room stirred, the elders began discussing it among themselves. The garwolvens also grew noisy and a few yelps of excitement broke out with the mention of a hunt.

"If you can confine the demon into something the size of a small ship and lend me a craft of my own, perhaps I can get in close enough to focus a beam of energy on him. I would also need someone on standby to pick me afterwards as it would leave me severely depleted," Widhbo said. "It will all have to be done quickly lest our prey turn into a giant space skulker of hideous proportion."

Bethon walked over and spoke with Lieutenant Cratus privately then returned to the podium. "We have small magiton craft which are used in surveillance of planetary bodies. I think you'd fit into one nicely, Widhbo." Bethon said. “They are very maneuverable and have a fairly long range.”

"I'd like to examine one if you don’t mind," Widhbo said.

"Lieutenant, show Widhbo the available models and have him select one.," Bethon ordered. "Colonel Munaci, your task will be to work with the Lieutenant and Sora crew member, Hal, to build energy the traps needed to collect the skulkers. Bring any other thoughts to my attention before we meet with Baleendro tomorrow. This better work. Meeting dismissed.” He stepped down and motioned to Lord Anakron. “If you would meet with me briefly, please."

The room cleared. Widhbo left with Cratus as Bethon approached Anakron and Nova. He waited until they were alone.

"Why is the leopard wearing Tajlon's guardchev?"

"Tajlon loaned it to him for the council meeting. It would have been a circus without it," Anakron replied.

"It was designed specifically for Tajlon. How can it work for another?" Bethon looked intently at Nova. “I know what I saw earlier. It was a flash of Tajlon’s face. Don't lie to me Anakron. I think we're far past that point."

"You've already divined the truth, they’re combined,” Anakron said and turned to Nova. “Show him.” Tajlon phased back in, replacing Nova with his own form.

"What in the name of the ancients were you thinking?" Bethon said as Nova transformed.

"That you would be more cautious than with Nova alone," Tajlon said. "You're quite willing to sacrifice him. Don't bother denying it."

"You should have cleared this with Balvendro. I doubt he will be pleased to see his new godling has merged with a leopard," Bethon said, his words aimed at Anakron, not for Tajlon, but the elder god now responsible for him.

"He was chipped the same as I was," Tajlon said. "The garwolvens would go insane if they probed Nova. Who knows about the rest of you."

"I couldn’t very well ask the ancients to make Nova a guardchev of his own," Anakron said. “And there wasn’t time.”

"Still, I don't like Tajlon taking the risk. As if things weren't complicated enough, I still have to hope Hal and Greyla come through with fuel for my ship," Bethon said and headed for the exit.

"If they gave you their word, they'll make it good," Tajlon said. "See that you keep yours for a change."

Tajlon's last comment stopped Bethon in his tracks. He was not one to ignore subordination and Tajlon fully expected a reprimand.

"I never intended to abuse your trust, Tajlon. I admit to my vices. I rationalized my behavior, convinced you were all criminals, guilty of mutiny or worse. I thought you were the instigator behind the murder of your own father. The truth dawned too late. I curse myself daily for that. Tell your friends if they will simply follow orders and avoid further mutinous behavior no harm will come to them."