Max returned to his office and set up the holographic emitter so that it would show him sitting at his desk as he addressed the rest of the group. He knew that they were going to need his advice if the Myceloids from the other side were attacking in force, but he got the feeling from their earlier interaction that they still didn't quite understand the nature of the enemy.
When he opened the communications channel to Celia's Love, there were hundreds of people already gathered in the room, sitting around rings of desks set up on multiple levels so that everyone could look up or down to see who was talking.
The largest and most powerful fleets made up the inner rings, and the minor species were up in the rafters, arranged behind the species that they were backing.
It was a bit like a House of Commons, where the seats were divided by political parties, but in this case, it was by alliances and military strength.
[Welcome Commander Keres Max. Thank you for your prompt attendance. Can you tell us more about the nature of the green beasts that are attacking the outer Seventh Zone right now?] The leader of the meeting, a Colonel from the Anomaly Defence Force's Mecha Regiment, requested.
[Of course Colonel. I have already forwarded data on the combat capabilities of the ones that we faced, but this force is much more heavily armed. They possess higher levels of technology, and they are known to use both advanced body armour and energy shielding in combat.
Their culture is one of pure war. They enjoy combat as a hobby. Not simple violence, but actual challenging combat, overcoming strong enemies to prove and increase their own strength.
They will not stand for only one small portion of their fleet to be in combat at a time. When the others see that they have found a way to attack, they will be headed here to join the festivities.
It seems unlikely that they would attack the same target, though. Being present in overwhelming numbers is not their style. They reproduce and become combat effective very quickly, so the reinforcements will most likely seek new targets once they arrive.
Their bodies have evolved to favour combat, so you need to eliminate them as efficiently as possible, as defeating enemies triggers a growth hormone response in their bodies that can increase their size, intelligence and combat effectiveness by a noticeable margin in a matter of minutes.]
Max paused as his display showed that they were pulling up details from previous engagements so that the gathered representatives, who hadn't all been at the battles, would fully understand what they were facing, and what the rapid growth rate meant in practice.
[That is spectacular. Did anyone manage to get a sample of that genetic material?] One of the onlookers in the back called out.
[We did. We have records of both their genetic makeup and the weapons that they used in combat for your needs. I will make sure they are forwarded to your staff before the meeting ends.] The Colonel replied.
It was strange for Max, being able to see the whole room full of people but not read their minds. He had gotten used to having all that extra information available to him, and now that it didn't exist, it felt more like watching a movie than sitting in the room, as his eyes told him.
There wasn't much to be done about it, though. They were on a Destroyer, which wasn't completely stationary in space, so opening a portal was out of the question, and there was no way for him to physically go there on such short notice, so he would have to adapt to using only regular human senses to guide the crowd.
So, Max cleared his throat to pull attention back to him. [If they are allowed to make landfall, even in the form of spores, they will quickly repopulate using the natural resources of the planet, and immediately begin forming makeshift weapons to continue the battle until they can obtain more suitable armaments.
Once they do, they will show that they have an unnatural adaptation speed, no matter what weapon they are given. Our research suggests that it is part of their genetic memory, and that there is no way to prevent them from learning to use your weapons if they should obtain them.]
That led to a long round of cursing, and some proper discussions on what they should do to prevent these huge green attackers from increasing their own firepower by using the weapons of the defenders.
That was more along the lines that Max wanted them to be thinking, instead of trying to focus on whether their species should get involved at all.
They were just starting to come to some sort of consensus when another urgent message came in from a planet only a few star systems away from the ongoing battle.
[Another fleet of the Green Horde has appeared. Nine Destroyers in total, with a much larger contingent of support craft, they are engaging but not stopping for the defence fleet as they head for the planets.]
[The worst has happened, they are attacking again before we have fully rearmed. We must talk to the Commanders and start the intervention fleets again.] The representative from the new system that had been attacked shouted into the room.
[Calm yourself, sir. You are not the first to be attacked, and you will not be the last to be attacked in this wave. We will work out who is going to the rescue of whom, and which fleets will leave their systems entirely to reinforce the regions that are currently under attack.
Just because the first attacks were in that region does not guarantee that it will be the focus of the wave.] One of the other politicians chided him.
The representatives whose systems were under attack were not happy with that answer, and both were larger forces with a strong alliance. But the memory of the last wave of attacks was fresh, and a lot of them had not recovered much of their strength yet.
They were bound to help their allies, but they just didn't have much left to send.
