Chapter 1087
Despite having a powerful sensory technique, Devon was far from a scout. At the very least, he needed to already know where his targets were. Seeking them out wasn’t within his purview.
But the Unified Cluster was extremely qualified for the task. All they needed was a vague direction to begin their search, and they began to scour the area en masse. Of course, they were making use of more than just numbers. As they spread out they made use of the web of connections between them to cover a broad area, making use of only one central group to connect them to all the systems in an area.
It was a taxing effort, but still more efficient than individually searching each and every one of potentially thousands of systems individually. It wasn’t difficult to find the first few systems through interrogating captured individuals, but the concern was that there might be even more.
Though it seemed unlikely the upper realms had foreseen events, their remaining systems were outside of the comfortable zone that had been scouted properly. Even reaching some of the enemy systems took over a year, both due to distance and the required slowdown from properly exploring the area. However, once they found the first system about two hundred lightyears off- in a direction perpendicular to the galactic plane- they found more and more.
They didn’t avoid notice completely, nor could they have been expected to. They came across dozens of occupied planets. In some places the scouts lost their lives, but their sacrifices were not in vain. Their deaths were sensed by their connected brethren, even at a vast distance. Normally the connection only stretched throughout a planet or at most a system, but consciously extending it was possible.
With their location discovered, Devon prepared to set out- along with local fleets and reinforcements from other parts of the Lower Realms Alliance. That included the Wayfarer under the command of Gabriela. The vessel was the oldest Ascension-class ship still in use, but that did not make it obsolete. Instead, it had been constantly upgraded… and its crew and commander had grown deeper connections. Just recently- in the grand flow of time, at least- they had begun to integrate the Unified Cluster’s technology, allowing for better mass energy sharing.
Along with some other familiar faces, including some powerful residents of Akrys, Devon was surprised to find out that the most familiar face was also planning to join the war. It was a face he saw more than his own, that of his wife Aerona.
“I thought you would avoid the war,” Devon commented. “We’re far from the point that we can make good use of a diplomat.”
Aerona held her head high. “Perhaps that’s simply because your diplomats have not been good enough. I refer even to myself.”