4: Council of Ramus

Kellith sat in the cold Council chambers. The room was carved into the basalt rib of a crater formed from the bombing of Ramus during the Imperial subjugation. It was said these chambers lay where the first bomb dropped on the alien Specters almost seven hundred years ago. The stone and polished silver decorations of the chamber smelled faintly of incense and oil. Chairs were arranged like the constellations that shown above in the night sky. The Elders, Priests of the Specter Church, and the War Born all had representatives on the Council. Candles lay between the arrangement, giving off a slight smoky haze.
Kellith had spent half his life learning to read the differing body language of the different representatives. How a slight nod of a War Born official could signal an attack, the quick hand gestures of the Priests as they communicated in what they thought was code, or how an Elder's slow movements could stop both in their tracks.
The council convened with ritual efficiency. A bell, sharp and bright, chimed through the commotion of gathered members, and voices dimmed like curtains. Priests drew their robes tighter, and the War Born shifted into uneasy salutes. Kellith picked up on it all. Among the members was a young Temple Priestess, her face raw with emotion, though she tried to hide it. His sources had confirmed her to be Val. She had been at ground zero during the burning of Lyris. Kellith nodded at her with respect.
Kellith rose once everyone had been seated. “Thank you for assembling on such short notice,” he said. He let the words linger until he had the room's attention. “We have reports of an act of sabotage and assault…”
Voices rose as decorum was abandoned. Accusations and distrust filled the chamber. A quick chime of the bell brought them back to order. “Please, my esteemed colleagues. Let us keep courtesy.”
The first to speak was High Praetor Varr, leader of the War Born. He had led more campaigns than most War Born fought in. He was a grizzled veteran of war. The scent of smoke and blade oil followed him wherever he went. “Courtesy?” He asked, his voice a low rumble that sent chills down the rest of the attendees. “Our convoy was attacked. Our people, slaughtered. Ramus was invaded by the Psikers. An obvious attack from them destroyed the only evidence pointing to Corinth interference! Now is not the time for courtesy, but for action,” he spat.
Councilor Sela stood from the archivists’ section of the room, her face drawn with worry. “Force invites retaliation. We lack the fleets needed to take Corinth and Psikers head-on. If we go to war openly, we lose the sympathy of the neutral systems and give the Karnage the excuse they need to march. We must be prudent.”
Kellith watched the two talk and smiled to himself. He played politics like an old instrument. The right notes plucked at the right time could produce the most beautiful symphony. He had expected the brash ideals of the War Born and had planted the idea of retaliation in Sela’s ear himself. Off to the side, he could see the Specter Priests signing to each other, secretly already backing Sela’s position of peace, as predicted.
Kellith waited for the room to quiet, then spoke again. “We begin with facts. The Psikers have already confirmed that it was a small heretical splinter group that assaulted Ramus. They have agreed to give us their deaths in payment for the destruction at Ramus. A small consolation, but a war against the Psikers and the Corinth is not attainable. The Corinth betrayed our peace treaties. Guild K’est has been traced to have sold a data shard containing the warp way the Psikers used to invade. A K’est info-broker, So’len, was in our custody, ready to share the full extent of the Corinth betrayal, but was killed in an unfortunate assault by raiders. Looking closer at this event, however, points to Corinthian involvement.”
A murmur spread through the room. Kellith could already see the political power turning in his favor in support of action against the Corinth.
High Praetor Varr slammed his fists down. “We have the proof to move against the Corinth. Our War Born are ready. Let us make an example of Guild K’est.”
Kellith grimaced. He had to take back control of the narrative. All-out war would cost Ramus more than they could pay.
“Let me suggest a different approach. One that will gather sympathy from the neutral systems. We blockade the shipping lanes that the Corinth have to the neutral systems, cutting them off from a key source of coin. Then we replace them, selling goods at cheaper prices to garnish favor,” Kellith said. He noted a nod of approval from the Lord Priestess Mira, ruler of the Specter Church.
“A show of weakness!” Varr barked. “And we will no doubt be at war with the Corinth for daring to disrupt their commerce.”
Murmurs again filled the room as Varr’s words began to sway the crowd. Kellith let the chatter die down naturally before continuing his speech.
“Maybe. But we would then have the support of the neutral systems to back us. Do we want war with the Corinth on our terms or theirs? The choice is ours.”
Lord Priestess Mira leaned forward, her silver hair catching in the starlight. “I agree with Kellith. Publicly, we support the neutral systems. We send them aid and offer help in these trying times. We shut down their trade with Corinth. Privately, we increase our war efforts and prepare for what will inevitably come to pass with the Corinth.”
This took Kellith by surprise. The Lord Priestess was the last person he thought would support war. Looking closer at her face revealed the truth. She had seen the horrors of the desecration of Ramus. Corinth would pay for their part.
Councilor Sela nodded and added, “We must move fast to instill trust with the neutral systems. If they feel even the slightest discomfort imposed by our blockade of the Corinth, it could backfire, and we could easily have a war against the neutral systems and the Corinth.”
Kellith looked around. It was time to call for a vote. In the end, his proposal barely passed with the War Born and their supporters doing their best to shut it down in favor of all-out war. Kellith smiled-another successful day in politics.
“It is settled then,” he said once the votes were counted, “We will dispatch humanitarian missions and aid to the neutral systems. While doing so, we will blockade the Corinth shipping lanes, sowing distrust in the Corinth.” He paused for a brief moment. “We will prepare for war while doing so. Doubling our production lines of warships and increasing recruitment among our citizens. After the destruction of Ramus, many are ready to join the cause.”
Kellith noticed Varr’s jaw tighten, but the War Born didn’t disrupt his speech. Varr knew when he was beaten and would follow the council's orders. He was a soldier first and would follow orders.
“We should continue our espionage efforts as well,” Chancellor Hesto, one of the elders of the council, suggested. His career had once been as a spy master for Ramus. In his younger years, he could have posed a threat politically to Kellith, but now age had claimed most of his ambition. “Corinth is sure to leave a trail of their work. And the more dirt we dig up, the more we can sway the neutral systems to our cause.”
“I concur,” Kellith agreed. “But we should proceed with caution. The Corinth have already killed to hide their involvement. We need to negate civilian casualties or risk losing the support of the people.”
Two weeks later, the War Born fleets stretched like a steel curtain across several major warp lanes leading to the neutral systems. Convoy after convoy of Corinthian tradeships arrived, expecting open space, and found themselves greeted by an unyielding wall of metal and guns. Ramus dreadnoughts cast shadows over cargo haulers, their broadsides locked and ready, while swarms of patroling frigates escorted approved Ramus merchants through the weapon checkpoints.
Ramus openly projected power beyond its own borders for the first time since the wars of expansion that built its empire after the Great Collapse. Newsfeeds across neutral systems showed Specter Church humanitarian vessels, blessing the shipments they allowed to pass and issuing humanitarian aid to colonies that had suffered under the recent trade disruptions. Neutral governors found themselves in awe of Ramus' efficiency.
Some welcomed it. The blockade came with cheaper grain shipments and other goods needed by the colonies, replacing the overpriced Corinth trade at a fraction of the cost. To a starving mining colony or a struggling agricultural station, Ramus was seen as a savior. Corinth merchant ships were stranded, their cargo useless without warp lane access.
But Corinth did not sit idle.
Within a month, Corinthian propaganda flooded the holos. Their guilds called the blockade “economic warfare” and accused the Ramus of weaponizing aid to seize control of neutral space. Corinthian mercenaries began harassing Ramus patrols at the edges of the blockade.
Guild K’est and other merchant Guilds pooled resources to hire mercenary fleets from the neutral system, the once neutral captains eager to profit from the rising tension. Ramus convoys delivering aid were suddenly attacked in deep space, forcing the War Born to escalate their escort presence.
A decisive skirmish erupted near Thyros Gate, a neutral trade hub. Corinthian raiders launched a surprise assault, crippling three Ramus frigates and broadcasting the footage of Ramus intimidating “neutral” traders. The incident split neutral opinion. Some worlds applauded Ramus for protecting their colonies, while others claimed them as aggressors no better than the Corinth.
In the Council chambers, Kellith studied the reports. The blockade had bled Corinthian coffers dry, but at a cost. Corinth’s response was more coordinated than he had anticipated; they had turned neutral sentiment into a political weapon, framing Ramus as an imperialistic power.
Lord Priestess Mira’s voice echoed in Kellith’s mind from their private conversations: “Every blockade will breed resentment. If we do not win hearts now, we will fight both Corinth and the neutral worlds before this is over.”
Kellith’s plan had succeeded in strangling Corinthian trade, but he saw now that it had only set the stage for a far larger conflict. Corinth was already amassing a “security fleet” near neutral space, their guild leaders hinting at a retaliatory strike that would “restore free commerce.”
The neutral systems balanced on a knife’s edge. Ramus dreadnoughts guarded their lanes, the Specter Church ministered aid, and Corinthian merchants fanned the flames of outrage. What began as a quiet act of economic warfare now felt like the first drumbeat of a full-scale interstellar war.
And Kellith, master of careful plans, felt the cold weight of inevitability pressing on his shoulders.