"As you all know, the Elandrian have been fighting this war for nearly a thousand years. The Apleem are a formidable force with a depth of fighters unparalleled by anything either of our people have faced before. Among them are the Laxtros, a terrifyingly powerful enemy that orchestrated this entire army. In the face of such a powerful foe, we have faced impossible odds but still remain as a bulwark against the destruction they wish to inflict on the galaxy. Due to their overwhelming numbers, I feel we only have one clear plan to deal with this enemy. We must strike deep into the heart of their system and destroy their remaining production facilities," Emory stated forcefully. The Elandrians all collectively spit out their water in shock when they heard this idea.
"Destroy Facilities One and Two?" Bramimond stuttered, "You do realize where they're located, right?"
Emory nodded firmly, "Yes, I do. Deep behind enemy lines in the Trappist-1 system, their home system."
"We haven't set foot inside their system in over a thousand years," Hanon grumbled, "This isn't like Facility Three; we have no presence there."
"My peers have a point. If it were that easy to infiltrate and destroy these plants, we would have done so a long time ago," Elimine pressed.
"For a full army, yes, it would be quite difficult," Emory admitted, "But I am not suggesting that. My plan is to lead a small team deep behind enemy lines and destroy them before marching on the Laxtros planet itself to deal with Petrine. Without a steady stream of reinforcements, the enemy will be much easier to deal with."
Shepherd countered, "While this is a solid war plan, it leaves your rear unprotected. And without that core group of strong warriors, we will certainly be overwhelmed should the Apleem engage our forces."
"That brings me to my first request from you all," Emory continued, "Cath, Clarine, Galle, and Elffin, some of your respective clans are already on the outpost planets, but I would like to formally ask you to move the rest of your clans to these planets along with twenty percent of the rest of the clans to go to Temia and Vostea specifically."
"Twenty percent? Are you mad? Not since the first war with the Mantoan have so many of our people been off planet, let alone beyond the Sol System!" Zephiel growled.
"And what if the Apleem launched a direct attack on the Sol System?" Roy yelled, "There would be practically no one there to defend it!"
Emory sighed, "I understand your concerns, but that's why we must act fast. I planned for each of the facilities to take roughly a week and a half to eliminate and roughly two weeks to take the capital of the Laxtros. In return for helping defend the outposts, ownership of Temia and Vostea will be turned over to the Witches for whatever they may want." Grumbles and whispered rippled through the group while Athos scratched his chin.
"It's a good plan so far, and the timeline seems reasonable assuming it goes according to plan. Yet in the time it takes to destroy the facilities, they will push even harder against the main army. I fear we will not be able to hold our position long enough to be able to support the strike team adequately," Athos commented.
"Which brings me to my second request," Emory winced, "Shepherd, I would like us to move five million troops from the outposts to join the Elandrian on the front lines."
Shepherd nearly choked, "That's nearly twenty percent of our remaining forces outside of the Sol System! Don't forget that's in new territory and outside of the range of our technology."
"I realize that," Emory conceded, "But without the main army's support, the strike team can't reasonably punch a hole in the Apleem defenses. For the success of the entire plan, they need the support of our troops the most. If the Apleem is focused on the front, they won't have time to react or deal with an attack from the flank."
"An attack from the flank? What do you mean?" Bramimond asked.
"Once the two facilities are destroyed, humanity should take ninety percent of its forces and attack the Trappist-1 system directly, starting with the Mantoan home world," Emory stated, "The main force will finish up with the auxiliary battlefields and then join us in the Trappist-1 system. Meanwhile, the strike team will drive a stake into the Laxtros home world and cause them to draw forces back there to defend."
"There's still the issue of Petrine herself," Hanon interjected, "If we don't take her out, it won't matter how many forces we send."
Emory clenched her hand into a fist, "I'll deal with Petrine myself. I have a score to settle." When she said those words, a chill ran up everyone else's spine as the chairs themselves vibrated with the power of her statement. A moment of silence turned into a minute as no one knew how to respond until Shepherd broke the silence.
"How soon do we need to start moving things?" Shepherd questioned gingerly.
"The probes I sent to the Trappist-1 system should arrive in sixteen days," Emory sighed, "I would like to start this plan on December 1st."
Athos and Bramimond stood slowly before saying, "We support this plan. We will hold the line until reinforcements arrive." Elimine and Hanon nodded as they joined Athos and Bramimond. After a few moments, Shepherd stood and saluted Emory.
"We will move our troops to support your plan as soon as you need," Shepherd firmly added, "We will join our allies on the front lines and then move in for a flanking attack."
"Our clans will reinforce the back lines as you directed, Lady Supreme," Cath, Clarine, Elffin, and Galle replied as they stood and bowed towards Emory. Then Brunnya, Franz, Lilina, Roy, and Shanna stood and bowed as well. Finally, Zephiel made an exasperated sigh and joined the rest of the Witches in bowing.
Emory smiled as a tear came to her eye, "Thank you all for your support. Together, we will end this threat once and for all."
"Yes, we will," Athos beamed, "Now, if there's nothing else, we must begin working through this plan on our end." Athos, Bramimond, Elimine, and Hanon waved goodbye before turning into pulses of light and disappearing entirely. Everyone else sat back down as Emory's face grew sullen because she clearly had a little more to share.
"As you all know, Lord Perceval joined us some time ago," Emory's voice wavered, "It is with great pain that I tell you that he lost his life in the battle against the Laxtros. He fought to the bitter end, and his allegiance to us never wavered for a moment. I have preserved his body in crystal, so that he can be laid to rest back at his home."
Gasps immediately erupted from most of the Witches, and tears came streaming from Franz, Lilina, and Shanna. For a few minutes, those three wept for his loss while Emory tried to remain composed. Shivers ran up Emory's arms as she recounted what had happened on the battlefield. In the end, several tears fell from her face as well. Once everyone had calmed down, Emory said her goodbyes and teleported them back to the teleportation pad, even the leaders that had been stationed on the planets. Afterwards, only Emory, her friends, and Shepherd remained on stone tablet.
Gatrie joked, "Well, you certainly know how to rile everyone up."
"I don't do it intentionally," Emory sniffled and giggled at the same time, "There's one last thing I want to say to all of you, including you, Shepherd. We need to train as hard as possible over the next couple of weeks because we are the strike team, minus Shepherd. But I'm not going to leave these outposts completely undefended. Shepherd, what I'm about to tell and offer you is information only this group is aware of and cannot be shared with anyone, not even your closest advisors."
"What kind of secret are you hiding that even the Witches don't know about? Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone," Shepherd raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
Emory took a deep breath, "My father came up with a spell to transform the magik vessel humans have into a magik core. I would like to perform the spell on you."
"He did what?" Shepherd's eyes grew wide, "Can you even fathom how this would change humanity? Are there any side effects? Can you use the spell on anyone?"
"I won't go into all the specifics, but here's what you need to know. You'll get a magik body and a gift. Because you're already level ten overall, you probably won't see much of a difference initially, but you will have a deeper mana pool than you did before. Finally, you'll become biologically immortal. The process itself is a bit painful. Do you want this gift?" Emory carefully advised.
"Yes," Shepherd went down to one knee in front of Emory, "I swear to use this gift only for the betterment of humanity." Emory extended her hand and placed it on Shepherd's head. Ethereal chains sprang out from her palm and wrapped around Shepherd's body. They bound him tightly, and a slight hissing sound echoed as they lit it and etched into his skin. After a minute, the chains faded, and a surge of power erupted from Shepherd's core.
Slowly he opened his eyes and flexed his hands before remarking, "The power I feel is like nothing I've ever felt before. It's almost overwhelming. But what are the fires in your chest?"
"Your gift must be Clairvoyance, just like mine," Tana smirked, "It allows you to see what gift someone else has, if they have one."
"Incredible. Thank you, Emory. I vow to never use this power for evil," Shepherd bowed after getting to his feet.
"Your mana pool is still much smaller than ours, so you'll need to train hard these next few weeks too," Emory smiled, "You need to be in the best shape possible before you lead the people into battle."
Sam frowned, "Can't we all just stay here and train? I think we'll need real combat experience instead of just exercises if we want to have a big impact."
"I agree," Innes nodded, "That includes you too, Emory. Most of these big fights have been one-on-one, but who knows how many Laxtros we'll be fighting there?"
"I'll message my advisors to watch over the outposts while we focus on preparing. Surely they can handle day-to-day operations for the next couple of weeks," Shepherd offered.
"Well, it seems like I don't have much of a choice," Emory laughed, "Fine, we'll all train together, all of you against me."