”’One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ Or at least that’s how the Human saying goes. They are correct in that such things are often matters of perspective, but many would argue that the difference between the two is found in the methods used. A self-titled freedom fighter quickly falls into the terrorist category if they go down the path where ends justify the means. But again, that could be argued to be just another matter of perspective. For some, arguing morality is pointless and all that matters are the results. And they are somewhat correct, in that sometimes you do have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Then again, the words ‘greater good’ have been used to justify all kinds of atrocities. In the end, I think we all define our own morality on the subject, and we use that morality to draw the lines we would not cross.”

- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww

--------

As the father and son pair walked towards the two Mrrroww emissaries, Leon couldn’t help but notice the white tiger looking one playing with her powers, as if bored. It was almost mesmerizing to watch the small orbs of power rotate around the Mrrroww’s paw. As the two got closer, that mesmerizing feeling started to turn into apprehension. Was it just him or did those small orbs of power look a lot like tiny stars? He could see the currents of superheated gases moving around like water currents on the surface of the orbs, and he could almost sense the heat that the orbs should’ve been emanating. He was also a little weirded out by the fact that the orbs didn’t seem to give off any light either. All his experience in space told him they should.

He noted that most of the surrounding people looked at those orbs warily, and he figured out at least one reason why they were keeping their distance. Was that the purpose of the orbs? Under normal circumstances, various interested parties would've approached the Mrrroww by now, yet here they were, all keeping their distance. He also noticed his sister standing on the edge of the circle of people surrounding the two emissaries. She seemed to notice their approach as well and gave Leon a polite nod accompanied by a smile in greeting before disappearing back into the crowd.

Leon’s father was used to negotiating with powerful psions and members of various races, something rather unusual in most of Tetrarchy’s large companies, and he didn’t let the little display affect him. Or at the very least he didn’t show the effects on his face. It seemed his boldness surprised the Mrrroww as well, as they were probably the first people to approach the alien felines. “High Ambassador, Grand Keeper.” Leon’s father gave a small and polite bow in greeting. “My name is Ulrich Serebryakov, and I was wondering if I could take a bit of your time. This is my son Leon, and as you likely heard from the Tetrarch’s speech, he is well versed in the affairs of the current conflict, in case you are interested.”

While his father spoke, Leon noticed two things. The din of the party seemed to somehow grow quieter the more they spoke. As the party had not suddenly grown quieter, the two felines must have erected some sort of field that dampened voices around them. And no one had sensed or noticed anything. He was quite confident the guards would’ve reacted if they had noticed the display of power. Come to think of it, it seemed quite odd that the guards had not interfered in any way with the other Mrrroww’s clearly dangerous display of power earlier. Were they somehow affecting the people further away, which caused them to be ignored? Leon had only noticed something weird was going on when they got relatively close.

The second thing Leon noticed was a lot more subtle but perhaps even more important. As his father introduced himself and asked to join them, the High Ambassador glanced at the Grand Keeper, as if waiting for the white Mrrroww’s decision. As an obviously experienced diplomat, the High Ambassador would not make a mistake of that magnitude unless she had to. Which meant that the white Mrrroww was without a doubt in charge. Interesting. What was this Grand Keeper position that so clearly outranked the position of a High Ambassador?

The Grand Keeper looked at the two and suddenly seemed to smile. “Do join us. Perhaps we can be of use to each other.” The other Mrrroww gave a small and subdued sigh at the bluntness of those words.

Leon’s father didn’t miss a beat though and grinned instead. Although he was skilled in the more complex and nuanced negotiations, he preferred dealing with the more direct type. They tended to be more honest, even if the price they demanded was often higher. “Just what I was hoping for.” He replied and sat down.

“You might want to save your celebration.” The High Ambassador muttered. “I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

The Grand Keeper ignored those mutters. “Before we go further, do tell us what it is that you desire. Any talks will proceed more smoothly if we know what is on the table.”

His father gave Leon a small look before speaking. “I’m simply trying to form connections with the Mrrroww race. I’m the owner of one of the largest shipyards in the upper Tetrarchy, and there is a lot that I could gain from such a connection with the most advanced race within the galactic core. My son, however, is seeking for information.”

The Grand Keeper seemed uninterested with his father’s first suggestion and looked towards Leon instead. “What kind of information do you seek?”

Leon hesitated a bit. The Mrrroww had been rather direct so far, so perhaps the best path forward was to do the same. “This…how should I say it? We heard of a ship that looked like a Progenitor vessel taking part in a battle between the Mrrroww and the Shinzen. That suggests a certain connection between your race and the ship. What I seek is connected with that ship, though not directly with the ship itself.”

This seemed to surprise the two Mrrroww, though they didn’t show it aside from a slight pause before their reply. “And what specifically do you want to know then? I’m assuming you’re not silly enough to ask for something I would never answer.”

“I’m looking for someone who might be on board that ship. Or if she is not, then at least what happened to her.” Leon admitted with a heavy voice. He was prepared for bad news, or so he liked to think. At least then he would know.

The two Mrrroww seemed to share a small smile. The Grand Keeper continued speaking. “Well, this is interesting. Let’s say that what you ask is not entirely impossible. Are you sure you want to go down this path though? The answers you find might not be the ones you wanted.”

"I'm sure," Leon replied immediately and without hesitation.

“Very well then. In that case, we might be able to do business.” The High Ambassador replied this time. “That goes for both of the things you were looking for. However, we all know deals go both ways. Now we come to the part where we talk about what we want.”

“I’m listening.” Leon’s father stated, and Leon nodded as well. They were both getting something that could mean a lot for them, so they were willing to go quite far to fulfill this bargain.

“As a gesture of good will, and to help our little spirit of cooperation along, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” The High Ambassador stated while leaning towards them. “The food and drinks that are being served in this party are poisoned.”

“WHAT?!” Both men exclaimed and tried to jump up, but felt like an invisible pressure was holding them in a seated position. “Is this your doing?” Leon’s father demanded.

“No, of course not. We simply noticed the problem.” The High Ambassador replied easily. All three of them looked at the stack of plates next to the Grand Keeper.

“Is she alright?” Leon asked warily.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking though.” The Grand Keeper replied with a grin. “The poison doesn’t work on me. I doubt the one responsible expected two Mrrroww Deities to take part in celebrations, and that might be throwing their plans off to an extent. Which brings us to the second point. It is quite likely this party will be attacked at some point after the poison had spread to all the guests and those Deities guarding this event that are not taking part in the attack. Before you ask, we have no idea who is attacking or why. We frankly don’t care. That is the internal problem of you Humans.”

Leon’s father sounded a little choked as he spoke. This was a little beyond his extensive experience. “I thank you for this information, if it really is true. Almost my entire family is present at this party and I don’t want to lose them. Your warning might spare us from becoming collateral damage. You don’t seem all that worried all things considered. Even if this poison doesn’t affect you, that won’t stop you from getting mixed up in whatever comes later.”

“We are not worried. If need be, we are perfectly capable of fighting our way out, from the entire Tetrarchy if necessary. You didn’t think the Mrrroww sent two random Deities to the heart of your empire on a whim, do you?” The Grand Keeper replied with a level of confidence that made the two men somewhat wary. That said, Deities were strategic assets, so it was not too outside their expectations.

“You didn’t say what you want from us yet.” Leon’s father finally stated.

“Well, I would assume quite a few of your race have already asked the question: Why are the two of us here? The answer is that we are hunting for something. And you might be able to help us with our hunt.” The High Ambassador stated.

“What prey could you be hunting here?” Leon asked with a frown. In his mind he was already thinking that one of the people present at the party had committed some heinous crime against the Mrrroww.

“We are looking for a parasitic being that can take over humanoid life forms and control them. These parasites are rather intelligent and like to take over powerful and influential people to further their own purposes.” The High Ambassador explained.

“Just like the people in this room.” Leon’s father finished the thought. “Why have we never heard about this? Even if these parasites were a secret of some sort among the Mrrroww, it would seem the dissemination of this information would be rather important and useful.” He wasn’t fully convinced about what he was hearing, though he didn’t dismiss it outright either. There were various weird beings in the universe, especially if you considered all the things created in labs and not just those born naturally.

“Mostly because these parasites are supremely rare. The knowledge about these things could lead to several rather unfortunate unintended consequences and suspicions, and all this when there might not be more than this parasite left in this part of the galaxy.” The Grand Keeper replied in turn.

“That…makes sense.” Leon’s father admitted. He could think of several rather nasty ways this information could be used for rather unscrupulous political purposes, not to mention the potential witch hunts and pogroms.

"Have you already figured out if the parasite is present?" Leon asked with slight trepidation. He was eager to ask about Miyo but recognized that any questions he asked right now would not receive an answer until they fulfilled their end of the bargain they were about to strike.

“We have. We sensed the parasite’s presence as the Tetrarch’s group entered the room.” The High Ambassador almost whispered, which caused some cold sweat to the two men.

“You don’t mean the Tetrarch, do you?” Leon asked warily. “I’m not about to help you assassinate the Tetrarch just on your word of a potential parasite.”

“While the Tetrarch would be the most obvious target, no. I don’t think so. I think the parasite is among the aides the Tetrarch brought along, though that might be a temporary thing.” The Grand Keeper elaborated.

“I think I see where this is going. You don’t want to cause an incident, so what you require from us is to draw the person affected by the parasite to a more remote location so you can deal with it.” Leon’s father guessed.

“That is one option, yes.” The Grand Keeper acquiesced, hinting that there were other paths that could be taken. “Probably the one that is the least disruptive as well, considering the ongoing celebrations.”

“What about the host?” Leon’s father queried. “Say you get rid of the parasite. What happens to the host?”

“Why do you ask? I sense this is about something else besides generalized worry towards a random person.” The High Ambassador shot a question back.

“My oldest son is among the Tetrarch’s aides.” Leon’s father stated in a subdued voice.

"If your son is the one hosting the parasite, then you have my condolences. Even if the parasite leaves willingly, which it is unlikely to do, the act of separating from the host is burdensome and the parasite will drain the life-force of the host to save its strength. The process will leave behind nothing but a withered husk." The Grand Keeper stated firmly. Leon's father wanted to argue but was cut off. "I know what you want to say, but there's nothing that can be done except to stop this from happening to someone else. We've tried. Someone with a strong enough life-force might be able to survive the separation with a weak parasite, but that would require strength that none of you in this room have. Even then the host would never fully recover. If your son is the host, then he is already gone, and the one here is simply the parasite wearing his face.”

“Even if all that is true, I’m not sure if I can lead my own son to his death.” Leon’s father mumbled sadly.

"Assuming your son is the host, which might or might not be the case." The High Ambassador pointed out the obvious. “If it makes you feel better, we can allow you to observe the process, so you’ll know we were being honest.”

“What do we need to do?” Leon asked.

“Take us to the Tetrarch and introduce us. While we are in close proximity, my friend here will spot the host, and we can discuss further from there. Perhaps we will get the opportunity to deal with the host naturally, or if not, you might need to come up with an excuse. If your son is among the aides, then that should be much easier.” The High Ambassador instructed.

------

As the group got closer to the military Tetrarch, the Tetrarch noticed their approach and waved away the other people that she had been conversing with. The two Mrrroww required her full attention and the man leading them was an old acquaintance. “Ulrich. It’s good to see you. I see you’ve brought some rather rare visitors as well.”

The older human man that had called himself Ulrich exchanged pleasantries with the Tetrarch while Moonshadow took up the diplomatic duties. In the meantime, Selendil and Leon hung back a bit while Selendil spotted their target. "Have you already detected the host?” The younger human standing next to her asked in a quiet voice.

“I have. I also have good news and bad news. The good news is that your brother is not the host, as the host is female. Unless I’m missing something and you have a female brother? Humans can be a bit odd sometimes.” Selendil replied idly while locking eyes with her target.

“Uh, no he’s quite male. I think. At least he was the last time I saw him. You said you had bad news?” Leon was a bit thrown off by Selendil’s earlier words and changed subjects.

“Yes, well, the bad news is that our target is well aware of my presence here, and knows why I’m here. It has also taken over one of those supposed Deities guarding your Tetrarch. A rather weak one, but still.” Selendil explained.

"That's…a bit problematic," Leon muttered. Not counting the Tetrarch herself, there were three Deities in her party and only one of them was female. They were the Tetrarch's personal protectors, and since she was the only female present, which usually meant that she was a close aide of the Tetrarch. The confidantes of powerful people tended to be of the same gender to avoid rumors. An old-fashioned idea, but still held true most of the time. Getting her alone might be challenging, especially now that she was aware of their purpose, and her disappearance would also be noticed.

Their problem actually got solved fairly easily and almost accidentally. The Tetrarch wanted to spend some time speaking more with both Leon's father and the two Mrrroww emissaries but now was not a convenient time as she had to go around greeting people. She was also a little leery about Leon's presence thanks to his ostensible connection with the civilian Tetrarch and she couldn't really come straight out and ask about his allegiances in the middle of the crowded ballroom. As a result, she asked her most trusted aide to lead them to the gardens to find a more private place to talk. As it happened, that trusted aide was the female Deity, who for some reason agreed. Selendil sent a silent message to both Moonshadow and Leon's father to accept the offer.

It only took fifteen minutes for them to reach a secluded area near the beach. As soon as they did, the aide turned towards Selendil and ignored the three other people. "Very bold of you to come here, Dhar. It was cute what you did by announcing yourself as a Grand Keeper, but you don’t fool me. I took over enough of your kind back during the war to know a real Keeper would never allow that name to be sullied in such a way. One of the Keepers wouldn’t bother with such subterfuge either. They would just blow up the planet and me along with it.”

The host had started to radiate a dark purple light from its eyes and fingers, and a mist of the same color was starting to swirl around her, which caused the three observers to take distance for their own safety. She had also spoken in an old language that only the two of them, and surprisingly Moonshadow thanks to her recent lessons, understood. The speech was clearly not meant to be understood by others. “I see, I was wondering why you came along with us so easily. You seem rather confident.”

"Why wouldn't I be? You seem to think you came here to hunt a minor wraith, but unfortunately for you, that is not what you found. I've taken over and drained dozens of your kind, and you will be no different. I don't know where you hid all these years, but I have to thank you. I was forced to slowly move up the chain of command for a minor race like the Humans, but with your arrival, I can save so much time. When I take you over, I will gain the power and technology to rule this entire galaxy and many others. And without your precious Keepers around to save you, there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop me. So tell me warrior, why wouldn’t I be confident?” The body of the female Deity was starting to break down under the strain of the void entity fighting its way out.

If Moonshadow had not erected a barrier to prevent the waves of power from radiating outwards, everyone at the party would’ve already felt the disturbance. As it was, Moonshadow was struggling to contain those waves and wouldn’t be able to hold out for very long. "Well, ignorance always was the greatest source of confidence for lesser beings, and it seems the same holds true for your kind," Selendil stated firmly. This might get messy. She had not expected the void wraith to be such a high level one, which explained how it could stay hidden despite staying inside a Deity. This battle might not be easy to keep hidden, even if her victory wasn’t really in question. This wraith was not going to fight her using the strength of its host but by using its own power in order to quickly take her over, which would make for a short battle but it would also be rather detrimental to the surroundings.