They called it the Translocation Gate. The greater beyonder gate was no more. Its present incarnation had undergone so many changes and refinements that it had become a completely different megaconstruct. Ves and many other people who watched the live broadcast of the first gate activation with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the Polymath successfully transformed the greater beyonder gate into a device that could instantly transfer starships from Bridgehead One to distant locations. On the other hand, the Translocation Gate most likely lost the functionality of its previous incarnation. This meant that its twin that was located in the Maryun Ultima System of the Milky Way had just turned into a large but useless space decoration. At this time, the only way to engage in a physical exchange between the two distant galaxies was to make use of the smaller and much more limited Oblivion Gates. While it was remarkable that they were able to bridge a gap of 50 million light-years, the insane cost of activation along with the inability to transfer living beings made it impossible for humans to transfer to the Red Ocean and vice versa. Such limitations clearly did not apply to the Translocation Gate. Instead of swapping the locations of two spherical volumes of space with each other across intergalactic distances, the Polymath's great invention instead generated a fairly normal portal at interstellar distances. "What is its range?" Many people asked that question. It was one thing if it could transport an entire Cyber warfleet several hundred light-years away. It was another thing if it could bridge a gap of over ten-thousand light-years! If the latter was the case, then red humanity could still engage in the original Deep Strike Plan even if the circumstances had changed a lot. The capacity to strike anywhere behind enemy lines was an extremely valuable capability. If the portal happened to support two-way traffic, then this meant that it would be easy to retrieve the distant fleet once it had completed its mission! That was not all. Ves could think of many other useful applications of the Translocation Gate. For example, it could be used to create a brief portal at a capital star system. It would remain open long enough to deliver a weapon of mass destruction that could devastate an entire planet! In fact, it might be better to park the Destroyer of Worlds in front of the Translocation Gate and open a series of portals that led to the capital star systems of every major alien civilization. The god pilot could easily blow them up no matter the distance! So long as the Cybers were able to dial in the right coordinates, nothing was impossible! A more advanced application of the Translocation Gate was to kidnap enemies. No matter whether they were starships or phase lords, once they entered the heart of Bridgehead One, there was no escape! The live feed continued. The Cybers did not provide any commentary, but they did not need to. The results spoke for themselves. Over the span of an hour, the Translocation Gate activated three times in total. Each time, the Cybers transferred one of their fully equipped and highly prepared warfleets to different locations across the Rubarthan Empire. For whatever reason, the Cybers did not transfer their powerful fleets directly in the contested border regions. Why? Was the Translocation Gate at risk if the portals got attacked? Did the Cybernetic Empire seek to prevent the native aliens from conducting scans on the active portals? Were the Cybers trying to keep the aliens guessing about its maximum range? Ves found it very telling that the Cybers refused to publish any specific data about their powerful gate. Its range, its energy consumption, its phasewater consumption and the shortest possible interval between gate activations all remained a mystery. The observers also did not know whether the successive portal openings generated so much strain on the more vulnerable parts of the Translocation Gate that the entire construct needed to undergo a thorough maintenance cycle. All of this information was crucial as it gave allies as well as enemies the ability to plan around the strengths and limitations of the Translocation Gate. The deliberate decision of the Cybers to withhold all of that juicy information frustrated everyone a lot. Ves found it very difficult to envision how his clan could potentially conduct its own deep strike operation when it was ready. Ves scratched his head. "These Cybers are too secretive. They have restricted travel so that only authorized trade vessels can go in and out. They only agreed to open up a small fraction of their amazing technological library. They have also closed off their own version of the galactic net from the rest of our society." "It makes sense for the Polymath to do so." His personal assistant commented. "Technology is power. She is not stupid enough to give away her amazing technological lead so easily. Her Imperial Majesty has also worked hard to turn Bridgehead One and everyone inside it into her loyal and devoted minions. The long period of isolation should have turned them into her permanent subjects. However, if these people are able to reestablish contact with their friends, family and coworkers, who knows whether their loyalty to the Cybernetic Empire remains strong?" Whether the citizens of Bridgehead One voluntarily defected to the Cybernetic Empire, the Polymath could not escape the criticism that she had preyed on the vulnerability of all of those stranded humans. She undoubtedly crossed a line when she poached such an enormous amount of high-quality R&D personnel from the other crumbling organizations. The Red Association, the Red Fleet and many other groups were more than upset at losing so many members. They would definitely expend effort into getting their talents back, especially now that they had learned significant aspects of many advanced technologies. While the Red Two could not simply barge in and rescue their former personnel, they may be able to rekindle their old fires by resorting to softer tactics. The best way to prevent the other powers from reclaiming their old members was to prevent them from contacting each other in the first place. Ves snorted. "Typical. The Polymath is a control freak. Now that she has gained an unassailable position of power, she is not shy about resorting to the most effective but also heavy-handed solutions." The more he learned about the Cybernetic Empire, the more he felt alienated by it. From its people's heavy embrace of cybernetics to their decision to hoard most of their powerful tech, the latest polity to make a statement across human-occupied space definitely sought to leverage its advantages to further its own goals. Shortly after the demonstration of the Translocation Gate, the Rubarthan Pact eventually published a short statement about foreign intervention. The message was fairly brief and lacking in details. All Ves managed to find out was that the Cybernetic Empire and the Rubarthan Pact had agreed to a number of concessions that enabled the imperials to enforce their rule over the locals a lot more effectively. The Rubarthans must have paid a heavy price to obtain the assistance of the Cybers so early. Ves lacked close connections with the governing institutions of the Rubarthan Pact, or else he would have been able to figure out the details of these clandestine deals. While he built up a shallow relationship with the Inferno Spear Prince and a more intimate friendship with the Destroyer of Worlds, he could not easily make contact with these busy war leaders. Perhaps he might be able to talk to them if he insisted it was urgent, but he could not justify this action just because he wanted more information. Had the two sovereign powers agreed to a simple exchange of military aid for resources, or had they also agreed to exchange tech or form a defensive alliance? 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 Any change was significant. The more extensive the agreement, the greater the ripple effects. Not even Ves would be able to escape the consequences! As he continued to speculate about the motives and plans of the Cybernetic Empire, he eventually received another message. The Saint Commander contacted him and requested his presence at his, no her main office inside the Tortuous Scream. "This has to be important." Ves immediately concluded. A short while later, Ves entered the office compartment, upon which the ace commander activated all of her security measures. "The Cybernetic Empire had finally established initial contact with the Larkinson Clan." Casella announced. "So soon?!" "Yes. We must rank fairly high in importance if they show so much obvious respect for the extensive team of specialists. So far, the Cybers have yet to reveal their greater plans, though I can already form a few educated guesses based on the clues laid so far." Ves tried to think of this matter from the perspective of those who reside in Bridgehead One. The Polymath and many other important figures understood what was special about the Larkinson Clan. It was well worth it to exchange a small amount of concessions to win over the loyalty or at least the friendship of the Larkinsons. "What do you think they want?" Ves asked. "The most important goal is to drag us into their camp." The Saint Commander analyzed. "Not right away. That would be too blatant. The Cybers would definitely try to ensnare the Larkinsons as slowly as possible. Once we have become inseparable from the empire that the Polymath has built, it is too late for us to escape. We have little choice but to fully submit and hope that Her Imperial Majesty will continue to treat us well." "Those are rather general answers. Don't you have a more specific guess on what they want?" "I do, but I am careful not to mention them. I think it is best to leave this matter aside until one of the ships is ready to move out and witness this spectacle. Let us turn back to the main subject under discussion. Can you guess their first request?" "Did they ask to arrange a meeting with me and the Polymath?" There were many possible reasons why the Star Designer wanted to call Ves. She probably wanted to do way more than catch up on old times. Ves narrowed his eyes. Did she seek to recruit him into her empire? It was not an impossible mission. So long as she offered enough concessions, Ves might be persuaded to call her master. However, this was highly unlikely. The Cybers needed to offer something priceless in order to win over his partial loyalty! Even then, he would still stick his old ways more and less. "We did schedule a meeting, but it is not what you think." She says. "The Cybers did not ask for you from beginning to end. I did not get the feeling from their envoy that they are specifically seeking you out. Perhaps they are not looking to contract your services for the time being, or perhaps they think that getting our clan onboard will get you onboard as well. Whatever the case, their contact person subtly made it clear that they wish to open relations and explore initial ways to cooperate with each other. If everything goes right, then we can deepen our relationship and cooperate more intimately." That sounded typical. The Cybernetic Empire was hardly the only power that sought to get into the good graces of the Larkinson Clan through this gentle method. Ves scratched his hairless chin in thought. "Well, whatever the Cybers want, I hope you don't sell our services cheaply, Casella. Their tech is strong, but they are lacking in terms of hyper technology and E-technology. That is our only advantage. I don't think I need to give you further instructions." As difficult as it was for Ves to remain involved, he knew that this would be detrimental to the Saint Commander. This was exactly the kind of instance where he needed to take a few steps back and let his successor take the lead. Ves resisted the impulse to do the opposite. Sometimes, doing nothing was better than taking action. "If the Cybers are open to a deal, then I am inclined to make it no matter how small and limited it may be." Casella explained. "The Cybernetic Empire is strict and rule bound, but that also makes it much more likely that the Cybers will remain loyal to the letter and spirit of any clandestine agreement." The Saint Commander sounded a little more enthusiastic, as if she had detected a bug that only she could fix.