9 Universal Threats

An emergency meeting was called in the company's main HQ building. The timing was odd; nothing had been happening for a while now. Peace had generally reigned throughout the universe ever since the mega corporation had owned a vast majority of the major travel and arms businesses in existence. So it was odd that a level 0 alert, the most dangerous possible, was being discreetly sent to a few executives in the building.

Once everyone gathered in the divination-proof meeting room, questions poured forth.

"Hey, do you know what's going on? How is it possible for a threat to the entire universe to exist?"

"Level 0? Are you crazy, Boss? At least go with a 1. Do you know how ridiculous this sounds right now?"

"If this is accurate, though... this is more than we can handle, isn't it? I'm nervous about this..."

That's right. A level 0 alert was instituted. A guaranteed threat to the entire universe. Looking at it from a logical perspective, there was no reason for such a threat to even exist. Everybody looked in the same direction, demanding an answer.

On one end of the oblong table, a middle-aged gentleman spoke up. Despite his looks he was over 100 years old, and he looked as sharp as ever. No one would doubt his ability to command, despite his true age. This man was the owner of the supermassive company, and the men in the room were his closest partners. Of course, if anyone else were to speak up like this without permission, they would be severely punished. The fact that they were allowed to act like this in close quarters was a sign of mutual trust. The company had been through some rough times, and now it was prospering more than it was ever thought to be possible. And through thick and thin, this man had remained the leader.

"High energy beings detected, gentlemen."

Every being in this universe had a certain energy level. The word "high" was too vague. It could mean almost anything, including above average. But everyone present knew. If the alert level was 0...

"How high..?" Someone hesitantly asked.

"Enough to warrant a threat level of beyond universal rank."

The answer, which should have been obvious, shook the room. Everyone's heart seemed to stop. The deathly silence was intensified by the soundproof room, and nervous swallowing could be heard.

Finally, someone mustered the courage to speak up to break the unproductive silence.

"Um, Boss, you said beings, plural, right?"

"Right. There are two."

Some of the executives gulped with stress.

"My God... The fact that there's a new threat ranked beyond universal comprised of two beings... That means that each one should be a universal-rank threat, right?"

The boss reluctantly shook his head.

"Wrong."

"What?"

"There are two of them... And they're *both* ranked beyond universal."

Silence filled the room once more, and those who tried to remain stoic finally showed reactions.

"Gentlemen, I wish that were the end of it. Though there are two beings beyond universal rank which have recently appeared, this does not include the appearance of the multitude of beings ranked at sectoral level and beyond."

Nobody could stay quiet anymore.

"Ah... Then... it's even worse than alert level 0, isn't it?"

"That's correct. Ironically, level 0 was the most urgent alert I could authorize."

"Has... anything like this even happened before?"

The Boss hesitated.

"I don't know for sure, but it's rumored that the last time something like this happened, the Operator was created."

The Operator. A virtual database that tracked everything's statistics, and quantized/quantified energy levels. The introduction of such a thing changed the entire existence as they knew it. No one alive even knew of anything before the Operator existed, and life without it was unfathomable.

"And that was only with one being ranked beyond universal. Now, there are two. In addition to that, there are nearly a hundred new sectoral level threats as well."

"So, you're saying that something big is going to happen that affects all of us... something on the level of the Operator? Or something even bigger?"

Indeed, the Operator's introduction to the world was similar to the invention of fire; it was probably the biggest reason for modern day technological advancements. To think that another similar event would unfold soon...

"It's not guaranteed, but it's possible. On the other hand, the destruction of the Operator is likely as well. I don't think I need to state it again, but we're dealing with something very dangerous here. But on the positive side, we can deal with it with a relatively small amount of manpower. We only need a hundred MKS ships."

The atmosphere, which was already greatly disturbed, could no longer be contained. The executives raised their voices at their leader, barking one question after another.

"How can two threats beyond universal AND a hundred sectoral threats be taken care of with that number of MKS units?"

"Where are they located?"

"Where did they come from?"

"Why was the alert sent in secret?"

"Why didn't you act earlier?"

There were seemingly more questions than answers now. But the Boss held up a hand, indicating his wish for silence. Reluctantly, the executives regained their composure.

"One at a time, gentlemen. Firstly, I *did* act immediately. The instant I recognized the anomaly, I called everybody here. Although the initial energy levels of the beings were exceedingly high, they disappeared rapidly. I'm not sure what this means to be precise, but the fact is that they are currently low level. However, the longer we leave them alone, the more dangerous they will become.

"The alert was sent discreetly because although it's a potential threat to the entire universe if left unchecked, it's very possible to deal with it with a small amount of resources. Their origins are unknown as well. However, I can say for certain that they were not recently created by our competitors. As for their locations... They are scattered throughout the expanse, with the second-most dangerous one residing in Sector Omega."

At this point, it was hard to surprise the group. The location, sector Omega, was the most dangerous sector in the entire universe. No lone traveler could escape from there unharmed. In fact, nobody on record had visited that sector and returned alive. The ones that did, however, were kept under wraps by Boss and his company. In fact, the company knew of a guaranteed safe trajectory to and from the planet thanks to the data gathered by these unassuming travelers. However, just because the route was guaranteed didn't mean it was cheap. The amount of preparation and resources the trip required was headache-inducing.

However, the executives didn't fret. If Boss said so, the mission would be a surefire success. This was how much the team trusted themselves.

However, one of them wasn't completely convinced.

"It's great that we can take care of one of them, but what about the other one?"

With the mission's guaranteed success consuming their thoughts, nobody questioned the logistics of the plan. For a moment, it seemed like everyone forgot that there were *two* high level threats that they needed to keep in mind.

"On that front... There's a problem. Its location is slightly more troublesome."

"..."

The Boss just stated the impossible. How is it even possible for a location to be more troublesome than the most dangerous location ever?

"More troublesome? How do you mean?"

"It's unknown."

"Un...known?"

"Right, the second threat's location is unknown, which is why we're only sending a hundred small ships towards the known threat locations. The majority of our manpower needs to be spent looking for it, otherwise who knows what'll happen."

This was seriously a problem. Even the man himself seemed nervous. Seeing their ever-so-confident leader nervous for the first time truly made them comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Knowing this, the end of the meeting was rushed.

"We're sending as many ships as possible on sortie. I've sent each of you a list of subsidiaries that can allow the most efficient search method across the expanse. As for five of you, remain here with me. The rest, move out at once!"

"Yes, sir!"