***Saggitarius Arm – Lmir Domion’s Deep Space Observation Post***

***Travil, the Ambassador***

“You and your people should have everything you need,” the general informed us and pointed towards the containers which were covering the busy flight field.

The area was brimming with workers running back and forth between the supplies to get everything ready for our imminent departure. Despite the relatively rural location, the flight field was a mess of activity.

Considering that everyone knew that this event had been long since in the making, one might have thought that my people would have prepared themselves better for this day.

My eyes wandered to the time indicator in the hologram in front of me and I nodded at the general’s comment.

Despite that, I didn’t allow my eyes to sway away from the holographic image which was displaying a representation of the solar system.

Outwardly, I wasn’t allowing myself to show any sign of nervousness. But on the inside, I was barely able to contain my desire to start the mission. This was what I had been trained for my entire life. To think that it almost would start off on a bad foot because of some logistics error was inconceivable.

For such a thing to happen in this day and age, had I not known the people involved, I would have called foul and accused someone of sabotage.

Our race had been watching the conflict between the Galactic Societies and the Silent for decades as it slowly spread from a small disturbance at the edges of civilised space to a real incident on a galactic scale.

We observed the first large G.S. fleet pass through our systems and paid our tribute, unaware of how the galactic landscape would change in just two centuries.

My predecessors were not alerted as they observed the G.S. sending out their first punitive fleet from the galactic centre.

Such expeditions had taken place in the past. The rulers of the galaxy did tend to show their might to uprising empires when the mood struck them. They were also very fervent in suppressing any upcoming race that violated their dogmas.

Developments like that were hardly newsworthy to those who reigned over my people, so our failure to act in time could be called a combination of disbelief and overconfidence.

Our Lmir Dominion could claim over a thousand stars in the galaxy’s green zone, a band of stars that was far enough away from the galactic core where the G.S. ruled, but close enough to claim at least some importance on the galactic scale. The stars farther out in the Rim were too far away from each other to support any large civilisation of significance.

Time and distance were limiting factors even for those who possessed trans-light technologies.

If anyone had asked our leaders, they would have said that we were an important political body, ensuring the stability of this quadrant. Yet, to the G.S., we were utterly unimportant. Just another province in the political landscape.

And then the unexpected happened.

News arrived that the fleet that had passed us was utterly destroyed.

The Hob, a race of merchants that travelled the whole galaxy brought the tale on the winds of the hyperspace, whispering the story to any who would dare to listen and draw the ire of the core’s power.

Because one thing was certain, the G.S. was afraid. In the following years, they would strike out at anyone who dared to even consider siding with the enemy. The situation was unprecedented as far as the elders knew and all of my people agreed that the G.S. leadership would have to make an example out of anyone who spoke against them.

We weren't so foolish as to believe that the G.S. wouldn't make a sacrifice in the form of a little Dominion at the edges of its space if the opportunity arose. If not to punish true traitors, then to bring others to heel.

Up until then, it was thought to be impossible that any race could stand up to the technological and economic might of the core-worlds which were a bastion of over ten million stars under the Galactic Society’s iron rule. Unassailable and undeniable, the core worlds pressured the rest of the galaxy with their doctrine and their ironclad ban on artificial intelligence.

But apparently, one race had managed to defy their will.

A race that called itself humans, as the Hob had told us. My ancestors didn’t pay the news much heed at the time, expecting the G.S. to send another overpowering force to utterly crush the heretics who had violated the ban on researching artificial intelligence.

Hundreds of years went by, as did the fleets that were sent by the G.S.

One after another, they passed through our space and vanished in the spreading void of the Outer Rim.

Now, on the dawn of a new age, my people finally had to acknowledge that we would find ourselves on the frontlines of a galactic war within our lifetime.

Yet, the G.S. still refused to acknowledge their failed attempts in the open. Their missives from the core hadn't changed at all over the years. If asked about the fleets that were sent through our space, they would be declared a colonization effort with a handwave.

Uncaring of the political truth, the light of the stars in the Outer Rim slowly diminished. One by one, the stars themselves dimmed and then flickered out, vanishing from the sight of our best observation platforms as the frontlines advanced.

The Lmir leadership finally had to admit that the G.S. awakened something capable of creating a war machine that could sweep their fleets aside like a leviathan parted the water. A force that was capable of utilizing entire stars for their purposes.

“You have to determine their plans, and what they intend for us.” Riar awakened me from my silent chain of thoughts. The strong female politician gestured towards the map that I was watching.

On her behest, it scaled up, showing us the whole expansion of the Lmir Dominion throughout the Saggitarius Arm of the galaxy. Farther out, what we called the Silent was pushing in on us from the outer skirts of the galaxy. In the centre, the golden core’s sphere of influence shone like a beacon, representing the G.S.

“You have to find a path that prevents our people from being caught between two fronts,” the politician continued. She was rehearsing what everyone already knew, but I didn’t call her out on it. This project caused everyone to be on edge.

One of the military advisors snorted in obvious contempt. “There is no way of negotiating with this foe.” He turned to face me. “Remember to bring as much information back to us as you can once the negotiations fail. Your mission might be one of diplomacy, but in the end, our people have nothing to offer the Silent in the grand scheme of things. They didn’t spare any of the other races before us. Always remember that we are caught between two giants. Once they clash, we will be right in the middle of it all.”

The general gestured for his adjutant to be silent, clearly agitated that the man dared to voice the truth without coating it in sugar. “He speaks outside his rights, but he isn’t wrong. The Silent and the G.S. are beyond us. The military leadership has judged that our combined forces should be just strong enough to stop the Silent strike-force that’s heading our way.”

Another of the military men scoffed. “Shouldn’t that alone be a point which puts us in a position that allows us to negotiate with these powers? How much time do we gain by stopping one strike force, a decade, a century? Shouldn’t it be enough to advance our own technology and to rebuild our fleets? Also, I am not convinced that it is infeasible to subvert their forces. They must have been on the way for generations and weary of travel. It might be enough to offer them a solar system or two.”

Finally, I decided to share my thoughts, “That may be, but what about the next one, and the one after that? It is an old and sore discussion. Why would you expect our enemy to stop their own advances? The force that's driving them onwards over the course of centuries is beyond our ken. The Lmir Dominion is vast, but even we are sensing our limits. I travelled from one end of Lmir-controlled space to the other, and I can honestly say that those further in towards the galactic centre won't care about what happens to those on the frontlines. They won't see the war for another two or three generations.”

Others would have stood trial for such subversive words, but saw no reason to close my eyes to the truth.

The general looked at his man as if he was an idiot, outrage showing on his face. “This isn’t a normal conflict. If this were a mere conflict between two biological races, you might be right. Fleets like the ones that the G.S. and the Silent are sending out aren’t built on a whim, and losing even one of them should hurt. Any normal race that isn’t propelled by an iron will or pure, religious fervour should lose its will to fight battles on a galactic stage – where conflicts take longer than any individual’s lifetime to play out.”

He thrust a hand at the hologram, almost swiping through it. “But everything we have heard from the Hob points to the fact that the Silent are beyond such things. He said that they became one with their machines and that they are apparently as relentless as a machine in their cause.”

I closed my eyes slowly and opened them, trying my best to project calmness towards the man who clearly lost to his emotions. “Are you sure that we can trust the Hob? I don’t question the conclusions which your people spent decades to come up with. But I fail to see how the Hob could be an unquestioningly trustworthy source of intelligence. It must have its own agenda.”

“Of course, you are right.” He nodded and rearranged his coat, clearing his throat upon realizing that he almost made a fool out of himself by reacting to his subordinate’s ill-spoken words with such fervour. “But we are unable to see how the Hob would benefit from lying about things that can be verified easily enough once we come in contact with the Silent.”

I turned my attention towards the sky, expecting our transport to arrive soon enough. “Trust me. Haven’t you bred me and my assistants for this job? Once I am with the Silent, I will find a solution to our problem. I will save our people.”

The assembled representatives nodded solemnly. This project was their idea after all. A far shot, but it was their only hope to cheat what fate had in store for us.

The Silent had earned their moniker among my people for a reason. They didn't talk on the open communication channels. Our furthest scouting missions only got glimpses of their mega-structures as they tore apart planets to engineer them into something else.

Those who stood in their way were swallowed and overwhelmed. The Rhin, a powerful species further out from our area of space had turned their own worlds into fortresses strong enough to withstand everything the G.S. was willing to send at them and their last communication was one of desperation as their last world was buried under the wrecks of falling ships.

It was only a century ago that the Silent had acknowledged our existence. They had answered one of our many requests for diplomatic exchange with nothing more than a date, location, and a transport volume for an unimportant world on the fringe of our space – which suited us just fine. There was no need to inform the G.S. of our intent to open a dialogue with the enemy, considering that one of their fleets was nearby and expected to clash with the enemy right outside our space a few years from now.

“It doesn't look like they are coming,” one of the women commented in a disgruntled tone. “It's almost the promised time and none of our sensor platforms detect anything.”

“This is an underdeveloped planet without a defensive satellite system and we didn't exactly bring a full sensor suit with us,” I commented. “One of our own ships could easily avoid detection until we are already halfway inside the system. Have patience.”

I tried to show myself as the infallible ambassador that I was supposed to be. They had bred me for the task, supposedly carefully engineering my genes.

Nonetheless, I couldn't quell the seed of doubt in my mind.

It was true, one of our ships could evade detection from the single transporter we had in orbit. Our leadership hadn't dared to send more in fear of the G.S. detecting our double-handed play.

But the ships which were capable of such a feat were also small scouting vessels that dedicated most of their tonnage to the machinery which was necessary to hide the ship from various detection systems. None of the vessels I knew of could even attempt to transport the volume of cargo that the Silent allowed us.

Then the General lifted a hand to his ear, arching an eyebrow. “The gravitational detection system just responded to something. It's already in orbit above us, but we can't detect anything else.”

“Only gravitational?” His adjutant furrowed his eyebrows. “Even though the transport's sensor platform isn't the best, it should detect something... light, electromagnetic... something! It should be impossible to camouflage from all visible spectrums.”

“Guys... I admit that I don't know much about these things...” The politician started shaking her head. “But shouldn't we rather be worried about the fact that something that's large enough to be registered on a gravimeter is entering the planet's atmosphere right above our heads? Is there anything of that size that is capable of landing on a planet's surface?”

I only raised an eyebrow at the hologram which switched to displaying the unknown spaceship dropping down from the void while the people around me started panicking.

Instead of watching our impending end through the hologram, I raised my eyes towards the sky where a gigantic fireball of ignited air descended.

As it slowed, a visible shock wave followed in its wake as it descended onto the flight field.

I forced myself to stand still and sound calm and collected. “If this is truly an uncontrolled descent, there would be no point in running.”

My words returned some sanity to the rest of the group which was about to break and run like a herd of brainless animals. Sadly, our bravery evaded the workers who were unloading the cargo shuttles as they chose to flee from the flight field.

Then the burning inferno of ignited atmosphere split, unfurling like a terrible flower to reveal a gigantic vessel at least three times as large as the transporter that brought us into the system. Now revealed, the ship’s glistening surface reflected the distant sun’s light like a mirror as it slowed its descent further.

A sleek, teardrop-shaped hull fell towards us at neck-breaking speed, only to come to a complete halt right before impact.

The flight field’s concrete dented a little beneath the leviathan from the stars as some sort of force field made contact with the ground.

I was forced to briefly close my eyes and raise a hand for protection as displaced air tore at our clothes, but that was all the inconvenience we had to endure.

At last, the ship only stood there like a silent monolith, towering at least two kilometres above us with the tip pointing towards the sky and with a base of about five hundred metres in diameter.

When it seemed safe, I slowly lowered my hand and crossed it with the other one behind my back, taking note of the exact time. “Well, it seems like they are the punctual type.”

My comment released some of the tension in the air and the others started breathing again.

While the rest of the group fought their fear of the impending first contact, I had to struggle the hardest to hide my excitement over the fact that my mission had finally begun.

Reacting to movement on the strange ship’s surface, I immediately straightened my back and steeled my expression. This was my moment. I was chosen to represent my people in front of an unknown and alien intelligence.

Who could possibly know which expressions or movements might offend the Silent?

That was why I was relentlessly trained to overlook any differences in physique or culture. To achieve my goal of finding a solution for my people, I would do my very best to understand the Silent and to find a basis for common communication and understanding between our two species.

The ship’s surface rippled, and then the glass-like substance flowed to form a hole, a part of it extended towards us in what could only be a ramp.

My mind raced, I immediately reached various conclusions as I saw the ramp’s slightly concave indentation, noting that there were no stairs. Maybe the Silent were some form of intelligent goo? Or some snake or a worm? That would make stairs unnecessary.

Finally, a shape revealed itself in the opening and my mind came to a stuttering halt as I was forced to process this utterly unexpected being.

A young, Lmir woman had stepped into the light of the day, so young to be almost called a girl.

As I watched her with a stupefied expression, she squinted against the light and was forced to shade her eyes against the sun. In the process, her tight flight-suit displayed her pleasurable figure to anyone who desired to steal a look.

Upon seeing us, she smiled and took a step forward, simultaneously dropping down onto her bottom.

I chose to ignore the undignified and childish ‘Weeee!’, which she let loose upon sliding down the ramp.

My mind still fought with the fact that the ramp wasn’t a ramp, but a slide!

That woman had just ruined my great moment by acting like the child that she seemed to be. This definitely hadn't happened!

My mind turned somersaults at the indignity.

How in the universe had she gotten onto that ship? Had the Silent picked up some illegal settlers outside the Dominion’s space? It wouldn't be unheard of that a disgruntled group of outcasts would pack their things to board a civilian ship and to vanish in some far corner of the galaxy.

The woman-girl came to a stop right in front of us and patted down her bottom before taking my hand with a brilliant smile.

Meanwhile, I had to fight to keep calm. I wouldn’t debase myself by lashing out at her.

Confusingly enough, she started to shake my hand up and down. That wasn't how Lmir greeted each other.

“Greetings! We come in peace!”

“Graaah.” Too baffled by the situation, I let loose a less than intelligible tone. Like some uneducated caveman, I gave a worse performance than a diplomatic acolyte in his first year.

Stars, I hadn't made such a fool of myself since the Admiralty had sent me to a Fezzen colony for training purposes.

For the first time, the girl’s expression turned worried.

She looked down at herself and squeezed her boobs in a definitely unladylike manner. “Is something wrong? Did we get the proportions wrong? I admit that I scaled these a little, though the system assured me that this is within acceptable limits. Don’t tell me that one of my siblings played a prank on me and gave me some horribly disfigured member of your species to copy. I was promised that this shape is the best blend of what is considered as appealing in your holo-casts!”