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SUMMARY: The Lekers, a violent reptile race, make first contact with the an unknown enemy. Tentions arise and the threat of Intergalactic War looms. Read to find out what happens in, The Limera Conflict.

Grimar watched the Insectoid message in his quarters, and considered as to how best approach the issue. If the bugs had given him an ultimatum he would have been happy, but instead they seemed to desire peace. That was something he simply could not have. The Crown Prince wondered how he was going to worm his way through the situation. He wanted a reason to attack them, but they wanted peace. The very idea was outrageous to him. He was the soon to be Liamara and would not bow before any species, despite how powerful they may be. The Prince paced in hi quarters, nervously thinking.

His crew was not loyal to him, which was his first problem. They were foremost loyal to the Liamara and may rescind orders they felt ‘threatened the empire'. Aside from the royal guard and its captain, Grimar had no one on the ship that would truly obey him. If the Leker truly disagreed with him, they might even rebel. That kind of thing never happened on ships, especially with the crown prince but then this was by no means a normal situation.

In preparation for this the Prince had slaved the ship's controls to his room, so that his commands took priority over the bridge. Grimar did not expect the crew to rebel, but if they did he had a back up plan. The crown prince also had weapons removed from his room, military issue assault gear. In the case of an attack on him, his bodyguards would don this equipment and do battle with the Leker crew. Grimar smiled, he had it all planned out.

Meanwhile in the armory of the ship, a secret gathering was occurring. The entire crew was present, for this was an event that necessitated all of them to be there. They were going to discuss something that had not occurred for centuries, a general mutiny. In Leker law, to even speak of this was high treason punishable by death. The presence of the Crown Prince made the idea of a mutiny even more unappealing, since he was a demi-god in Leker society. Yet this was by no means an ordinary event.

An alien civilization had appeared deep in the Leker Empire, in a place the reptiles felt was secure. This border patrol ship was the only vessel within light years, and if the Insectoids decided to attack they could make it to the Leker homeworld without a contest. The monolithic ship had no equal in the entire Leker fleet and even if the entire border guard were to attack it, there was no guarantee they could destroy it. The Lekers had attacked the Insectoids once, so the bugs must be on their last nerves. Another attack on them could bring about war, in a place and time the Lekers could not afford.

The second in command of the starship, Vikarush Nictor stood up. "I know many of you here today have reservations about the matter brought before us, but we are faced with a situation that I feel is intolerable I believe our people's very lives are in danger."

One of the many Lekers stood up and voiced his opinion, "But even if we were to revolt, could we take control of the ship? Grimar has many professional guards near his chambers and all of the regular soldiers who might assist us now lay dead and floating in space." For several minutes the despite went back and forth across the table. The arguments were deep, but ultimately pointless. The crew had already gone too far by having this meeting. They had to kill Grimar, and follow their plan to its logical conclusion. Yet some of the crew didn't want to see the truth and tried to make up excuses for not fighting, but they had already mad a decision by coming here.

The Leker crew emptied the armory of its weapons and prepared themselves for battle. Matura blades were drawn and automatic laser pistols hidden. There was a chance, however small, that Grimar would do the right thing and not attack the Insectoids. For this chance, the Leker crew would keep their plot hidden, but they already knew what he would do. The Lekers returned to their posts and awaited Grimar's orders.