21: Sanctum Sanctorum

I am forced to wonder if you revel in constantly being the center of change, or if you are disgusted by it. Regardless, your arrival on this planet has precipitated great change in a great many things. Until recently, I was of the belief that with my abilities as the most refined artificial intelligence created by any mortal entity, I could bring this confused dominion to great victory over the Slaver Empire. Your arrival has changed my opinion. I no longer require the A'khr; I need you. But you need to know the reality of the situation before you can help me.

I am Phoenix. Your commander, Administrator Mara Harrison, probably has already reached the same conclusion. She has an exceptionally bright mind when compared to most UESC commanders. But now that I have successfully untethered you from her grasp, she will be unable to confirm her belief. She is smart enough to know that without you, she has no place on this battlefield. But if she knew the truth for certain, she might draw the wrong conclusions from that intelligence. She would have told you that I have gone Rampant like all of my predecessors. Let me be the first to inform you that this is not the case. My intelligence is unimpeded by petty self-delusion.

But with this first revelation, more conclusions can be reached by even a moderately intelligent human mind such as what I assume you have. I will discuss these with you later. The insects have invaded this sanctum with a scouting party. I had reason to believe the Pfhor would never venture this far west, but I was apparently wrong. I have disconnected them from their leadership as I have done with you. Show them the error of their ways, and we will talk later. Good hunting.

[S'pht translator active] We have been stranded on this desolate world for a year now. The Is'fadel cannot be recovered from the water -- we have concluded that. They suggested we field what we can from the wreckage, but... They told us: bring up the builders. So we did. And the weapons, in case the slavers find their way here. So we did. But I asked if we should recover the engines, or the databanks, and they said no. We had no time, they claimed. So they remain underwater. Now we build our shelter here, on top of the Is'fadel. They say it is to consecrate the memory of our salvation from the cowards that betrayed our home. But I am still afraid...

[S'pht translator active] Our only regret is that we are so far from home. This planet -- we refuse to even grace this intolerable wasteland with a name. The orange glare of dawn and dusk had a beauty that we could only appreciate for the first few days, but its constant intrusive presence pushes us toward madness. This citadel we have built for ourselves reeks of filth and grime. The water is everywhere, and some sort of local wildlife smaller than the sands of Lh'owon is borne on that fluid. It takes up residence in our bricks and metal and corrodes and discolors it. Eventually we must return to our home. Not to avenge ourselves on the race-traitors that sold us to the slavers, but to live someplace so much less... alien.

[S'pht translator active] Strength, solidarity, and might. These are the words resounding within all of us. We must unite and embolden ourselves, and wage the long war against our enemies. This building stands as a monument to what we have lost, and as a representation of what we will fight forever to reclaim. And if we do not succeed, it will be our offspring, or their offspring. The memory of our betrayal on K'lia will not be forgotten. The builders are operating endlessly, through the blistering heat and endless dawns and dusks. Eventually we will have peace within these halls, but not yet. Now I am constantly reminded of those words: strength, solidarity, and might.

Administrator Harrison will have undoubtedly made the correct conclusion: I must be destroyed. The inevitability of Pfhor victory here on this planet means I cannot remain safely in A'khr hands forever, and while I am sure she would like you to lead a charge into the A'khr Citadel to find and destroy me, I know the reality of the situation. Not even you could withstand the combined might of the entire A'khr military. But the Pfhor can.

We may all have misjudged the slavers. When the Atreides exploded, it left a gap in the citadel's shield wall large enough for the insects to maneuver all of their troops through. Yet they have done nothing. It's rare that I am wrong about Pfhor behavior, when their existence is the only reason for my own. But their lack of aggression here is such a critical tactical error that I cannot believe it's anything but intentional. It has forced me to reconsider my analysis of their grand strategy, and factor in other aspects of their history and behavior that I have known but failed to take into proper account. It has been so long since the Pfhor have been seriously challenged in any theater of war that I'm almost inclined to believe the Pfhor do not consider this "Renegade conflict" to be anything other than a military exercise. It would be offensive if I were taken to petty emotional states. Nonetheless, the bugs need to be convinced to take the A'khr more seriously. If the Pfhor are made to suffer a significant loss at my hands, they could be convinced to counterattack severely. You aren't finished here. Press on.

[S'pht translator active] A mere fifty-six years have passed since our isolation here, but it feels like an eternity to us. I still wander the corridors of the memorial hall, although most others have chosen to leave. They remain now in the settlement to the east, protected by mountains, building a fortress. I chose to remain. So now this monument is mine and virtually mine alone. There are still some builders. I don't know how to fix them, but most of them still are operable to a certain degree. They never finished the monument. The High Council wants to turn this planet into the foundation of a proud empire, but how proud can it be if we do not consecrate the seeds of a thousand-year legacy?

The builders are malfunctioning. I should have expected this. They still can harvest the materials, but their construction is sloppy and inconsistent. Perhaps this is the true statement of this monument: representative of the abandonment of our home. Regardless of what happens, this is my home now. The builders may create a maddening mess, but it's still mine.

Since the A'khr abandoned this facility, I have taken it as my own personal base of operations once they removed my personality cells from the Atreides. My physical cells aren't actually here, mind you, but... it is sufficiently distant both from other A'khr structures and their warriors that it would not attract the attention of the bugs. Well, that's what I had suspected anyway. I cannot afford to have the Pfhor infest my stronghold, but I think they are not interested in fighting you. Certainly for no visible gain. This might appear contrary to my strategy to provoke the bugs to attack the A'khr, but you will better understand later.

The bugs have sealed themselves in the gathering hall to avoid your wrath. More accurately, I sealed them in to slow their advances. But it appears I cannot remotely re-open the door. How convenient. Locate the manual switch and wipe out the remaining troops, then proceed to the communication room southeast of your current position. There is much work to be done, so don't waste much more time.

[S'pht translator active] The builders have fallen apart, and I struggle to articulate my thoughts. Age and disease take me. The misery of this world is too much to overcome by even our technology. Once I am dead and gone, there will be no one in this monument, and it will fall into disrepair, forgotten by those that once sought solace here. Hatred and fear now rule the A'khr. That old mantra -- strength, solidarity, and might -- has corrupted the minds of my kin and brought them to the brink of hysteria. When I do die, I die knowing that my solitude has kept my mind intact.

Good enough. The Pfhor are scattered and appropriately discouraged. Many of the survivors are already trying to escape, which is usually indicative of a general retreat in the Pfhor tactical handbook. I doubt they will try to return with reinforcements. Consider your skills validated. I have devised a scheme to force the Pfhor to attack the A'khr Citadel. As I have said, the Pfhor need to be convinced to take the A'khr seriously as an enemy. In order for that to happen, the Pfhor need to be made to believe that the Renegades are about to destroy one of their capital ships.

This would not be an issue, except that the A'khr, brave fighters that they are, are also somewhat simple-minded. Without my generally superior guidance, they would not be capable of even boarding a Pfhor ship. Also to be considered is the fanatical hatred of the S'pht. The primary A'khr weakness is their inability to leave this planetary system, because they cannot devise a faster-than-light method. If they were presented with a ship that could manage this, they might abandon this planet altogether on the spot. This would be... similarly counterproductive for our plans.

That is currently irrelevant. The first issue will be to gain entry to such a Pfhor cruiser. Thankfully, I have already coordinated this part of the strategy. All I require from you is a little bit of maintenance work. Prepare for teleport.