On the crystal world of Suun, the trouble was not so simple, and Viktor had spent two days turning it over.
He stood at the edge of the town's energy wells with Liang beside him, looking out at the far ridgeline where another force had quietly begun to settle in. Not attacking. Not yet. Just arriving, building, edging closer to the wells that Ananta Regalon had claimed first, testing how much they could take before someone stopped them.
"They are not raiders," Viktor said. "Raiders I would understand. These are organized. Patient. They are doing exactly what we would do, which is the part I do not like." He folded his arms. "Someone is running them who thinks the way I think. That makes this a negotiation as much as a fight, and I would rather know which one it is before we commit."
