“Zcarbbs of the whole universe! And even you, Czeons and Gzebb'zons who, although Zcarbb, do not consider yourselves as such... The forces of Evil have launched the final assault against our species: they are determined to kill us all, without exception. Already, billions and billions of colonies have been mercilessly massacred, queens and princesses included! The vast majority of them had never had any dispute with the Evil Empire that is the Administration! They killed them all with their Death-Fleet! They even killed their planets afterwards, devastating them so much that they will never again serve to shelter life. Their monstrous machines have raked all possible resources and have multiplied. Despite their losses, the enemy forces continue to grow in number because of this atrocious method!”

  Behind the queen, images from the surveillance systems of the administrative beacons showed the various stages of the assaults. Although these were located far from the territories formerly occupied by the Administration, the Zcarbbs had copied the beacons to create their own extension of the Network, fascinated by this communication technology.

  Black ships could be seen emerging from space and engaging in fierce combat with the Zcarbbs. Several small ships left the planet they were fighting for, trying to take the young Zcarbb nobles to other systems, while dark warships teleported in their path to exterminate them. Once the battle was won, the surviving black ships began to surround the planet and all the celestial bodies in the system. Myriads of robots then fell. First soldiers who quickly exterminated the Zcarbbs' terrestrial defenses, then their entire population. Then, it was work robots who conscientiously dismantled all the resources they could find, remodeling them into new black ships. The entire planet was surrounded by a temporal acceleration field and in less than a few hours, it transformed into a desert, pierced on all sides. More important than before, the fleet of black ships teleported abruptly, probably towards a new victim.

  “This is the threat we face! I therefore call on this day for the union of all Zcarbbs, without exception. I am sure that in the face of this existential threat, even the Gzebb'zons will ally themselves with our forces for the occasion... I therefore declare, in the name of the Zcarbbs, the war of extermination against the Forces of Evil!”

  She made a solemn gesture and the screen suddenly showed a myriad of Zcarbb ships floating in a black sky, without stars, where a few galaxies were vaguely visible in the distance.

  “Already, my allies have deployed their diplomats to help you coordinate your efforts with us, against the Enemy. We will fight on three fronts. Send your troops to support our sisters under attack at the border. Send your troops to defend the colonies under attack in the heart of our space and confront the Death Fleet, in the hope that we can still stop it. At worst, we should succeed in helping to evacuate the next generations to the safety of extragalactic spaces. Finally, send your troops capable of following protocol three to me: we will avenge our dead and destroy the very heart of Evil!”

  Following this announcement, the Zcarbbs assaults became more virulent at the borders, more coordinated. A second “Zamocles Tip” was formed, when the furious Zcarbbs forced the confederate lines and extended the front towards Center, the capital of the Administration. No longer sparing their forces, they launched their ships to attack until the last one and spared nothing in their path. Populations and buildings, usually spared by their assaults, were reduced to ashes.

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  The media repeated incessantly that this was the Zcarbbs' last stand and that they would eventually collapse, decimated by the Black Fleet, but the confidence of the universe was shaken. The Hogloos, usually front-line mercenaries against the Zcarbbs, withdrew all their troops and declared war on the Administration, while the Imperihom did the same. Too busy defending their borders, the Confederates declared war on the Administration anyway for form's sake, contenting themselves with invading the planets necessary to stabilize their rear lines and shift all their efforts against the Zcarbbs.

  As the universe became bloodier than ever, Sava Domeria felt like she was watching a disaster movie from afar.

  In Utela, the truce was held by the simple fact that the Zcarbbs agreed to negotiate when she was present.

  It was surreal. Who was she? Nobody, really. But there was this strange friendship she had formed with one of these monsters threatening Civilization itself. And, strangely, that was enough for the Zcarbbs to trust her. Certainly, at each meeting, the soldiers and some princes looked at her aggressively, but the majority of the nobles seemed to consider her a valid interlocutor, thanks to the guarantee of Ilena-tar-Yana.

  However, despite this notoriety, she could not negotiate the cessation of hostilities.

  “It is too late,” Ilena-tar-Yana had said, “now it is a war of extermination. We may be able to spare this galaxy, but the other queens are terrified... I fear that even if we manage to destroy this horrible Death-Fleet, they will continue the war until they exterminate the threat that the non-Zcarbbs now represent...”

  She herself looked terrified. Observing the news that the Zcarbbs transmitted to her, Sava understood why: despite incessant fighting, the galaxies were being purged one by one of all living presence, either voluntarily or in the violence of the fighting. Although slowed down, the Black Fleet, whose name fluctuated depending on who called it, was still advancing, ever more powerful…

  And yet, there were always new Zcarbb fleets emerging from unknown space, either to confront this “Death-Fleet” or to reinforce the Zcarbb breakthrough into the Administrative territory.

  All the galaxy fleets were engaged in combat, across the universe, but the central sectors still seemed spared… Then, came the Battle of Center.

  Suddenly, the administrative media became alarmed by a series of Zcarbb attacks occurring suddenly on all the territories ranging from the new “Zamocles Tip” to the Center galaxy.

  It was the Queen's fleet that had previously officially declared the war. She had gathered all the Zcarbb ships that had managed to obtain a “Walker” type engine. While the Zcarbbs' teleportation by “spatial fissures” was limited in distance, these ships were able to reach their destinations instantly. Of course, they teleported into extragalactic spaces because of the galactic shields, but they then forced them, by force of arms, initiating the invasion of sector “C” by the Zcarbbs.

  Many stories were written about the famous “siege of Center”. Entire systems were wiped out and countless ships fought each other for months. All the galaxy fleets had been recalled, extending the confrontation to all the surrounding galaxies.

  However, the Zcarbbs managed to make a breakthrough to the Center system, where they thought they would find the presidential palace. They did not find it there and ended up being pushed back at the cost of countless lives. Unsure of the objective to pursue, the Zcarbb armies began to attack everywhere and randomly massacre all the enemy territories they came across.

  But, far from these bloody conflicts, Sava Domeria was engaged in discussions. The Confederation, the Imperihom, the Hogloos and even deputies of the Universal Assembly of the Administration were around a negotiating table, with the Zcarbbs. Technically, everyone was in front of a giant screen with a secure connection and there was not necessarily a table. But they were negotiating there.

  Zcarbb's proposal for a mass suicide of the administered was politely rejected, but other compromises, more acceptable to the other camps, were found.