Another snippet for you guys! Hope you enjoy.

Prologue II: Davenport seeds the Spine

2 weeks after taking Speaker Isaak into custody

“Isn’t this a direct and deliberate violation of the Dictates of Man?” the Commander asked with distaste.

Admiral Magnus Davenport’s lip curled and he looked down his nose at the other man.

“I am not in the habit of being questioned by junior officers,” he said strictly before continuing in a more moderate voice, “however this time and only this once I will answer the question.”

“In primus,” he lifted a finger, “technically speaking it is only the use and utilization of Bugs or other biological weapons of mass destruction on ‘imperial’ ships, citizens, and followers of Man or those planets under the protection of the Empire is a crime. None of which happen to apply to the inhabitants of the Spine,” he said flatly, “the days of the Confederated Empire are long past and once this war is over the old Confederation will either have to get its act together or find itself relegated to the trash bin of history.”

The Commander looked at him levelly.

“Even if it doesn’t break the letter of the law, it still violates the spirit,” he replied evenly.

Davenport’s eyes turned red.

“The spirit in which those laws were handed down to us was to protect humanity and the empire from the rampant use of weapons of mass destruction. Not shield the users of bio-tech weapons after they have successfully carried out an attack of their own and killed an imperial senate. Possibly setting back the agenda of the empire by years, if not decades or centuries, Commander!” he said angrily.

“What about the rumors going around that Praetor Cornwallis died by the hands of the very weapons he himself attempted to set loose on the helpless civilians of the Spineward Sectors?” pointed out the Commander.

“None of that’s been confirmed,” Admiral Magnus dismissed, “for all you and I know it’s all only a smoke screen to cover the actions of a rogue military and a government that we, unfortunately, can’t move against while still actively engaged in a war with the Gorgons. Not with the old Confederation breathing down our necks at the same time anyway,” he said harshly.

“And not while that same old Confederation is preparing to hand over three previously retired battle fleets in exchange for clear title to the Spine, Sir?” asked the Commander.

Davenport looked at him coldly.

“Sorry, Sir,” the Commander said face blanking, “you’re right of course we’re not in the business of covering for WMD violators and it doesn’t technically violate the dictates.”

“Exactly. The Spineward Sectors wants to play games?” asked Magnus his voice turning cold, “well I am prepared to show them that we in the Empire are past masters at playing games.”

Before returning to the Empire the fleet train of 5th fleet split up and made stops at dozens of worlds throughout the spine.

First imperial warships arrived to scout the area and then much larger transport ships appeared several AU beyond each system’s hyperlimit to avoid detection and began to release their cargos near a series of pre-staged asteroids, comets or other interstellar bodies that had been identified as containing sufficient biomass for future operations.

Hours and sometimes days after the imperials jumped away that the cargo began to stir and then wake up. The first thing it did was move toward the nearest identifiable source of biomass.

Then once that was completed they began to build and reproduce. When every last scrap of biomass had been converted the newly built Bug Ships turned toward the life giving radiation of the nearest star.

All over the seven sectors of the spine Bug Swarms began to move on their carefully selected target worlds.

The Deposed King