Their discussion was interrupted by the AI on the Drone Ship making an announcement.
[Commanders, the fleet attacking our next target has retreated, as have many others. It appears that the enemy is currently regrouping all over the region.] The sweet artificial voice announced.
The old Darkling finally smiled.
"It seems that our guess was correct. The Bitter Gods panicked when they realized that the Greater Energy Beings could be destroyed so completely and easily by our forces.
Now that they have gone into hiding again, they will work on a way to rebuild their power and try to come up with a new tactic before they attack again. That can take some time, as the Gods don't actually work well together.
The only reason that the God of Time could get them to coordinate so well was that he could move forward in time, see the likely outcome of his actions, and then adjust before trying them in the active timeline. With that ability gone, they have no advantage of foresight, and they are fighting us the same as they were forced to during the second half of the Great War.
They have not forgotten that loss. We have seers among our ranks, much like Max, who can read minds, and the minds of the Gods are so overwhelming that they can be read from many lightyears away.
Simply entering the layer they are on can give you insight into their thoughts, and that is what we have been doing while we were monitoring them over the years."
Nico brightened at that comment.
"When we entered another layer one time while fighting the Myceloids, there was a sense that a much higher power was watching us, and even afterward, there was a sense that we were being monitored by a Greater Being. Would that have been one of the Bitter Gods?"
The old man frowned an action that nearly buried his features in wrinkles.
"The one that was watching while you fought at the closed Anomaly was the same one that closed it afterward. That is the God of the Myceloids. It admires all things cunning and brutal, so it has always had a soft spot for human soldiers.
The chances that it would attack you directly are very low, but the chances that it would send an entire planet full of Myceloids to you just to see what happens are very high."
Nico nodded in understanding. "That sounds about right. The feeling was a bit hostile and violent, but not so much hateful and angry. Maybe a little bit, but we were winning the fight at the time."
The old man nodded. "Dealing with the Gods is tricky. You never know how they will react, and they are so old that there are hidden memories, prejudices and biases behind nearly every action that they take. The Myceloid God is more unbiased than most, but I suspect that they are actually a bit simple in the head and just like smashing things."
"I suppose that the real question is, what do we do now? If the Great Enemy is staging another round of attacks, what do we do in the meantime? Unless we come up with a great new idea, we're a bit stuck, and nothing that we have is going to take out something more powerful than the Greater Energy Beings if they do decide to make an appearance." Max asked.
"For everyone's sake, let's hope that they don't make a direct appearance. But I am authorized to help you with your search for advancements. I have a collection of data from the Great War that might help you in your research. We never collected the scientific data of the humans, and our development path was very different than theirs, so I'm not sure that it will help you." The Darkling explained.
Nico smirked at him. "Our development path this time is different than the one you remember. We're not repeating the past, only being guided by it. So anything that you can offer us guidance on is going to be a benefit to us.
We have a facility with the finest of researchers among a dozen species gathered. Perhaps a few of your people would like to join us in trying to develop something that could forestall the chances of another attack?"
The old Darkling shook his head. "We can't spare the people. Everything that we have is currently dedicated to the preservation of the myriad species in case things do go badly here. I was assigned to you because I'm nearly on my deathbed, in terms of our species, so I am no longer an active asset to our people.
But I have data to share, and I will come with you to wherever it is that you are planning on doing this research."
Nico nodded in satisfaction. "That will be more than sufficient. Just having someone with your level of experience and firsthand knowledge on hand will be a game changer. We won't have to guess what might work unless it's something that has never been seen before. That will save a lot of time during development. All you will need to do is show us relevant data on similar technologies that you have collected."
Internally, Nico's monologue was very different.
[A Million years, a Million Years, a million years of DATA.] She was singing in her mind as she thought of new ships and Mecha that they might be able to design to combat energy beings and their allies.
Max sent her his ideas about variable output pattern energy weapons being an optimal choice, and the tone of her internal song got even happier.
"I will inform our allies that we will be returning to a location within our home region for the time being and that we will return if there is a resurgence in attacks. The rest of the human fleet will remain here and continue to help those who need it." Max informed their guest.
"I understand. That should be enough to keep your allies happy while they decide that the threat level has reduced enough for them to restock and rearm themselves. I just hope that they don't think it is completely gone."
