Ralph's departure left everyone who knew about it itching with curiosity. What exactly had he discussed with the Mechanicus ambassador at their temporary base?
What measures would Shatla take next? Everyone was intensely curious. As one of the Star Sea's giants, Shatla's next move would have an enormous impact on the balance of power. For some smaller civilizations, it was a matter of survival, so naturally they wanted to know.
But it was not just the smaller civilizations in the Star Sea. The other giants were equally curious. Shatla had suffered a setback.
As mentioned before, neither in the age of all-out conflict nor in the Star Sea era had a civilization outside the giants ever defeated one of them.
Naturally, everyone paid close attention when something like this happened. But their interest lay not in the war itself, but in what had gone on behind the scenes.
Like Shatla's leadership, no one wanted to believe such a thing could happen. That made the next question simple: who had backed the Mechanicus and screwed Shatla over?
Without question, the Vax Corporation and the Balchik Warlord Alliance were the prime suspects.
Shatla's blockade and disputes over resources had already brought the Vax Corporation into conflict with Shatla more than once.
It was entirely possible that they would now help the Mechanicus further weaken the Shatra Civilization. Moreover, Euphemia had commanded Shatla's mercenary forces this time. As a Shatla military commander who had made Vax suffer before, she might well have been someone Vax wanted to eliminate during this campaign against the Mechanicus.
Then there was the Balchik Warlord Alliance. First, the B3397 Star Sector, where the Mechanicus was based, lay within its sphere of influence. Though Shatla had already reached an understanding with the warlord who administered the region, those warlords'