Nastellan is a fully realized megasystem, home to eighty quintillion people, and fully encompassing its star. The people here live good lives, with a solid base of sapient rights, universal immortality and custom bodies, and a strong set of democratic institutions.

The neighboring United Democratic Angurosena Federation has none of these things. Under the five kings of its five stars, the people suffer for the enrichment of the corrupt aristocrats exploiting them. And recently, some political instability has made the kings think that what they really need is a war.

Thus the fate of Nastellan and the UDAF falls on their shipminds: individuals uploaded into incredibly superhuman brains, and entrusted with powerful voidskippers fitted for war as their bodies. Easily the size of cities, capable of evasive maneuvers that make hitting them with even lasers extremely difficult, and bearing weapons that could easily boil oceans and shatter continents; there is very little that can stand up to a well-made warskipper with a properly trained shipmind.

And both powers have billions of them, ready to go at a moment's notice.

This story updates Saturdays.