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  “Now there are three separate fleets arriving in orbit!” Shepard noted as they were all staring at the images from orbit.

  The scans showed three disparate groups of ships that still seemed to be coordinating together opening fire on the Separatist vessels. These newcomers used technology different from that of this galaxy, so it was quite obvious they were outsiders. On the other hand, they seemed to be using similar tech to each other, further confirming that they were working together.

  “That’s not all. I’ve got reports of things other than the Monstrum coming out of the lower levels. Huge Human-sized rat people with a mix of old-fashioned and more modern technology.” Yoruichi reported. She and Rangiku had been doing some discreet scouting before. “These rats keep running into the Separatist droids and taking them apart for their own use.”

  “And I’m fairly sure I walked past an area under a Notice-me-not charm earlier. I’m fairly sure the Jedi don’t put up such things.” Chachamaru added her own log into the fire.

  “A what now?” Yoruichi asked.

  “It’s a magical spell that makes everyone unconsciously ignore the area affected by the spell. Not a very complicated magical spell. I believe it works on similar principles as the Vampire abilities that fall under the Discipline of Obfuscation. I sensed my mind being affected thanks to having high enough resistance, but I didn’t push further as it would’ve broken the spell completely. And it’s really not our problem.” Chachamaru explained her view. These weren’t their enemies, so why get involved?

  “Things are getting out of hand fast.” Seraphiel shook her head. “It’s too soon for any reinforcements that the refugees that are sheltering at the arena might have garnered. Not unless they were already here or used an ability like mine, which is extremely unlikely.”

  “Perhaps. But it’s not too soon for word to have spread that a Core World is up for grabs, and that’s an enticing proposition for anyone. The problem is keeping it.” Shepard pointed out. “In fact, seeing how demilitarized the Republic is, I’m surprised no one took a swing at them earlier.”

  “The problem has never been taking this world but keeping it. The same thing that makes the place attractive also makes it hard to get a solid hold on.” Tatsumiya explained. “There are hundreds if not thousands of parties that could take this world, but holding it once you conquer it would be much more difficult. The only reason the Republic managed it was the sheer inertia of history and that no one has tried taking it from them. That's probably why there's now a coalition of three groups joining together to take a shot." She pointed at the three groups of ships that were making short work of the Separatists that had been in the middle of conducting an invasion.

  “If that’s the case, then these three groups are probably not the last.” Shepard speculated. “Well, and those rat-people. How they got here is a question as well. Who are these attackers anyway?”

  Everyone looked at Chachamaru, who was both in charge of communications and the one hacking all the satellites. “Oh, right. The Federation of Sol, Sardak N'orr, and the Barony of Letnev.”

  “Never heard of any of them.” Wrex summarized all of their thoughts.

  “This whole place is turning into a warzone.” Seraphiel shook her head. "The question is, do we want to be here when things turn really bad? We came here to take part in the tournament, but that's been canceled. We stuck around for the Monstrum, and the Separatists promised an event to deal with those, but that seems canceled as well. I think we can safely assume that there will soon be other parties here that can deal with the Monstrum, and they seem to have become the least of this place’s problems. So do we want to stick around?”

  Chachamaru tapped at her binder in thought. “Warzones are filled with opportunities, but they’re filled with risks as well. In this case, I’m not sure the risks are worth the rewards, especially since we’re doing pretty well on the reward front as well. We all have resources for our next Class Evolution, and many of us are getting close to it. It may be beneficial to withdraw and come back after some preparations. If the price is right.”

  Seraphiel and Shepard looked at each other for a moment. “Put it to a vote?” Shepard finally asked.

  “Gather everyone.” Seraphiel nodded. “We’ll vote on it.”

  The vote was rather one-sided. None of them truly cared about the world in question, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that the planet was headed in a dire direction. Even the Republic would survive if they just gave up on the place. Wrex wanted to stick around just for the challenge, but even he was less excited about it since much of the fighting would be had in orbit or between large armies. Tatsumiya was hesitant about leaving the Monstrum behind as a monster and Demon hunter, but even she didn’t vote for sticking around.

  “Should we offer some of the refugees the opportunity to leave?” Shepard asked.

  “Let’s. It’s the least we could do.” Seraphiel confirmed.

  With the situation deteriorating, all of the refugees were eager to go when given the opportunity. They all packed inside the ship’s hold, in preparation for leaving. “How are we getting out of here though?” The young Senator Amidala asked as the only person allowed in the cockpit as the ship was taking off. “The battle in orbit is getting rather severe.”

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  “She’ll take care of that.” Shepard pointed at Seraphiel locked in meditation.

  “How can sh…” The Senator was about to ask again when suddenly they all stumbled sideways. One moment they were at Coruscant, and the next moment they were somewhere else.

  "A little rough this time Seraphiel," Yoruichi commented playfully.

  Seraphiel groaned. “With so many people on board, it takes more out of me. At least the destination was more familiar this time.” She replied, greatly exhausted.

  “Where are we?” Shepard asked.

  "Mahora," Tatsumiya responded straight away, recognizing her old home and workplace.

  "I thought it was a nice neutral location," Seraphiel explained. What she didn’t mention was that she also wanted them to borrow Evangeline’s resort. Many of them only missed a couple of levels from the next Class Evolution, and the resort was a nice place to get those levels just through training.

  “One of the Academies?” The Senator asked, getting confirmation from Tatsumiya. “I have to agree. This place should be as neutral as it gets. My thanks for allowing us to escape. I might also be able to find some help for my people.”

  “I’m not sure how good of an idea that is currently. With Coruscant turning into a clusterfuck, you might be better served abandoning that place and making a deal with the Separatists.” Shepard pointed out.

  Surprisingly the Senator nodded. “I don’t disagree. Still, we need to have some power to negotiate with or we’ll lose everything. I’m not unsympathetic to the Separatist cause, but we can’t just surrender to them either. The hardliners in the Senate will not allow that. Even in the current situation, they’ll beat the drums of war, knowing that even if we don’t really have a fleet or army at the moment, it won’t take too long to create one if we go into a full war economy. Most of the large shipyards in my galaxy are still part of the Republic, and with enough backing…” She shrugged. “Backing that those hardliners would be willing to provide if pushed too far.”

  “Well, I’ve made my recommendation. What you do with it is up to you.” Shepard knew arguing further was pointless.

  As Evangeline walked up to the ship, shaking her head, she asked. “What problems have you brought me now, Seraphiel?”

  “Evangeline, I’m hurt! I bring you a present and this is how you treat me.” She responded playfully. “I know you’ve always wanted Jedi of your own. Well, ta-dah!”

  “Does this have anything to do with the mess in Coruscant?” The Headmistress asked, grinning a bit at the joke. “And might these gifts be refugees?”

  “Ah, so the word has already spread?” Seraphiel realized.

  “Of course. News of such lucrative carrion always finds its way to vultures. Why am I not surprised you’re involved?” Despite the harsh words, the Vampire kept grinning. She always did love drama.

  "Only tangentially this time," Seraphiel reassured her. "We were present but not involved."

  "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Coruscant is not the only one, even if it seems to have started the cascade. Armies and fleets everywhere are gathering and making their moves. Many of the Core Worlds have been a bit too lax with their security lately, and the aforementioned vultures have taken notice. The events at Coruscant seem to have simply started the spiral of war.” She was quiet for a moment. “Actually, it’s not even Coruscant now that I think about it. Different factions were already gathering their forces with all the Locust races becoming so active. Now they’re just finding alternative targets for those forces. There’s at least half a dozen Core Worlds headed for war. Usually, the Gods like to resolve such things through Champions, but not this time. I wonder what they have planned this time?”

  “The mortals are making their own moves?” Shepard suggested.

  “Unlikely. The people of this universe won’t even fart without the tacit approval of their gods. It’s been a while since I’ve seen chaos at this level though.” Evangeline didn’t seem too bothered. She did thrive on such things after all.

  “Can we borrow your resort by the way?” Seraphiel suddenly asked.

  “Rather blunt, but I suppose. You’re going to have to share it though. Your brother and mom are using it currently. Raziel wasn’t too happy about being left behind.”

  “No, I suppose he wouldn’t have been.” Seraphiel nodded. “It’s fine. I wanted to spend some time with them anyway.”

  -----

  Odin observed the bedlam that reigned among the gods. More specifically, he was observing which of the gods didn’t seem to be affected by the general unrest. Some of them were simply stoic by nature and didn’t show their emotions, even though some of those stoic gods seemed to be rather perturbed at the moment. No, it was the gods that were not known to be so stoic and still remained calm and collected that interested him. They were not panicking, because they knew something. Interestingly, many of those gods were not considered to be among the most powerful and influential.

  To say that gods generally reacted badly to sudden and unexpected change was an understatement. Gods of Change and Chaos notwithstanding of course. In this universe, everything had been run a certain way for a very long time. That made the gods feel safe and the universe seem predictable. Controllable. There were rules in place, and those rules were being enforced by a rather forced consensus among the gods. Even those who didn't really benefit from the status quo personally could appreciate the peace it brought. Now, several of those rules were being broken.

  To Odin, it seemed like some of the previously weaker gods were taking the opportunity provided by the chaos to improve their previously stale positions. The old winners had consolidated their power under the parameters of the old order. They had focused almost all their efforts on Champions, because Champions were the way disputes were resolved and power exchanged hands. Now, races were bypassing the Champion system entirely, waging more conventional war. Some races that didn't have the resources or the potential to have the most powerful Champion of their own had plenty of the more conventional resources required to create a fleet or an army.

  Now, normally the Champions of the most powerful gods were powerful enough to deal with such armies, but what happened when those Champions didn’t show up? Coruscant was the most obvious example, and the place that had started this mess. The Force, as the god of that world was going by, had a Champion. A rather powerful one. Maybe not powerful enough that they could actually hold on to the world against persistent enemies, but still powerful enough to defend the world from most would-be takers. Yet, that Champion had not shown up when the world had been invaded. Multiple times. Where were they?

  On a couple of other Core worlds that had been attacked, the Champions had stood up to defend their world and god, and were in the process of doing so, with mixed success as their attackers were not weak either. On one other Core World, the Champion had recently died, the otherwise powerful god still in the process of summoning a new one. On two others, the Champions did not show up. One had been in the middle of an event, not able to leave with all the other Champions present stopping her, stinking of a conspiracy, while another one seemed to have vanished.

  Top Champions didn’t usually just vanish. They were top Champions for a reason. And the ability to defend themselves was just the basics. They could be a bit reclusive at times, but to not show up when their god called? That just didn’t happen. And now it had happened twice. Three times if you counted the Champion being detained by other Champions.

  Never before had so many Core Worlds suddenly been thrown into contention. Some of them had grown lazy and secure in their position, which was why those were the first worlds attacked and in the process of being lost. The Force had already lost enough power and prestige that even if they managed to somehow come out on top, they’d be forced out of Coruscant by a more powerful god. Or, the position of a Core World would be claimed by another planet. One controlled by a more powerful god who could protect their property, or so they would claim.

  Here was the interesting part though. As far as Odin could see, this was all machinated by mortals. Oh, there were gods opportunistically taking advantage of the opening created, no doubt about that. But as far as he could tell, and he could divine a lot from his rivals, this whole thing had not been instigated by them.

  Here was the thing that made him worry, even if his own position was secure. If the whole thing had been arranged by mortals, he had a feeling this was not the end goal. This was just a step on the path toward something. What that something was, he didn't know, but he could tell there was more coming. And if what had already happened had thrown the gods into such disarray, what would happen when the other shoe dropped?

  He had a sneaking suspicion this bedlam and gods tearing at each other in opportunistic glee was orchestrated. If the gods were too busy stabbing each other, they would be more likely to miss other moves made by whoever was orchestrating this whole thing.

  Or he might be overthinking things. That had happened on occasion as well.