Chapter 417: The Elder’s Visit
While the Riken were bustling with activity, a group of over ten massive Ji warships silently broke off from the main fleet and headed toward Swarm territory.
“Where are those Ji ships headed?” The Koya Alliance’s fifty or so warships, now relegated to a corner of the starport, had a clear view of the movement.
With these colossal vessels—each over 4,000 meters long—so close by, it would’ve been impossible to miss their departure.
The Ji fleet wasn’t exactly subtle about their maneuver, so it was no surprise they were noticed. Representatives from the ten or so civilizations comprising the Koya Alliance hastily convened an emergency meeting.
“Where else would they be going? Their direction makes it obvious,” one representative remarked dryly.
“But why are they going there? Could this impact our operation?” another representative asked, his voice tinged with worry.
After all, their current activities—illicit dealings with the Riken black market—were tantamount to undermining the Ji. If discovered, the consequences for their alliance might be uncertain, but for those directly involved, it could spell disaster.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve managed to glean some insider information,” another representative said, clearly relishing the moment. “A few members of my species were among the personnel who arrived with the Ji fleet, and thanks to that connection, I’ve gotten some details.”
It was standard Ji policy to cross-station personnel across their garrisons to avoid conflicts of interest with their original species. Most garrison personnel were assigned to posts at least 500 light-years away from their origins. However, exceptions always existed, and for various reasons, some personnel bypassed this rule, though such cases made up less than 5% of deployments.