There was a half second before the council could manage any response other than shock. On each of their faces was a different story to their now thoroughly shaken expectations.

Sraga’s expression looked concerned, a glance stolen my holographic form. I wondered if she was worried that I’d been played for a fool in this case. She didn’t know the conditions of our deal, of course, but it did raise my overall estimation of her a bit. Not that I’d trust anyone any of the council lightly, but if I did need anything, I’d consider her as one of the first to go to.

Gryxgi’s strange body was hard to parse any kind of expression. There were a few swirling bits of chemicals, bubbles forming and disappearing in the span of seconds within the transparent container. I couldn’t tell if they were surprised or amused.

The shorter woman, Daltama, bore the widest grin and openly stared at Foma with what almost seemed predatorily amused. Of course, Foma’s face betrayed only a tenseness and a gritted jaw for a second before he seemed to twist his expression to a cordial - if quite fragile - smile.

And then of course was Yezzek himself, who maintained a professional facade, allowing himself only a quirk of the lips to betray his inner thoughts. I spoke with him for a short while, and I’d examined his history. While I didn’t forgive him for what he’d done to us, I could now understand his position. Whether I would have done the same thing as him out of desperation, I couldn’t say.

But I was very interested in how he would handle this situation herein. The silvery skinned man looked remarkably similar to a human, with the exception that he had a long sinuous tail meant for fine manipulation.

“Fellow council members, witnesses, classers,” he nodded to each of the groups in short order, “Yezzek Tam greets you.”

“My, my, and what are you doing here?” Foma’s control over his emotions was solid once more, “I’d thought that the very man responsible for so much of earth’s suffering would have been the last person I’d see in this room.”

“You discredit me,” Yezzek looked hurt, even if it was definitely manufactured, “No such thing transpired - why, if it had, then I wouldn’t have a position as a councilmen any longer.”

Princess Arianna snorted, “What is this farce?”

“Rarely do I agree with the scynoi; What is going on here?” Gryxgi turned their gaze towards my hologram, “We all heard the recording, the implication is clear.”

“Of withholding weapons designs from earth in the Obelisk system?” I looked to Gryxgi with a touch of spite, “The very thing that only minutes ago this council was prepared to have dismissed to keep their hands clean? To keep the Titherin from expulsion? You remember, I’m sure.”

There was a brief flush of color in the greenish slime that made up the innards of Gryxgi’s more biological systems, purple like a blush appearing and vanishing as they turned to Foma. This time, I didn’t need to know much about xylox biology, the accusation was clear in their posture.

“While it is true that there were certain arrangements made between Councilman Yezzek and myself, the human representative has denied any claim to pursuing legal action and council-officiated restitution.” Lazka swept in with a businessman’s smile, “Of course, we expect to be working together for quite some time. As such, it simply wouldn’t do to have such enmity from the offset.”

“Ah.” Realization donned on Arianna’s face as she sat back, “That’s how it is. Well played.” She chuckled, looking back at me and the council with anticipation etched across her features.

“That…” Foma opened his mouth, gaping for a moment at the sudden turn. “You cannot possibly be serious?” He turned his attention wholly on me, “Of all the people, you choose these two?” There was no outrage in his voice, but disbelief colored his every word. The man was desperately trying to parse apart the reason why I might do this. Perhaps on any other day he would have picked up on it immediately. After all, it seemed the rest of the council did, with varying degrees of surprise.

“He finds it more amenable to trust a man in my position,” Yezzek answered, referring to something beyond his council position, “Of course, there are many more things that I am willing to exchange and make consolations for than many others might be. Is it truly a surprise to you that I have secured my position thusly?”

‘He’s clearly taunting the man,’ I thought with exasperation, ‘Then again, given how they seem to respond to one another, it’s clear they don’t like each other. No small wonder, though. Yezzek’s political power is only behind Foma, but not by much. Eventually, he’ll even be in a position to take over as Speaker.’

“And there you have it,” I brought attention back to me, “I intend on having Yezzek as my political representative. At a later date, I intend to have the positions returned to human candidates, but given things as they are, with your already granted permission, I see no reason not to have them in place.”

I paused for a moment to see if anyone had anything to add before continuing, “Now, I’d like to discuss certain things in general about the expectations that I believe you all should have, and general plans. As you might guess, it’s still far too early to estimate when we might have the biotic threat taken care of.”

“It’s still in question whether you can,” Daltama’s voice gave me pause, “I’m not doubting your capabilities, nor that of your people. As we’ve seen, you and your kin seem to be quite capable of fighting back. The problem is that the biotic presence on your world is many times greater given the age of the infestation. This problem will get exponentially worse. Gen 1 biotics are able to be handled fairly simply by even militia forces if they are not in great numbers, but you may expect Gen 2 soon. Have you seen any evolved forms aside from Unique’s yet?”

I assumed she wasn’t pointing this out to just undermine my confidence, so I answered, “Yes, we’ve run into what I think we can equate to Gen 2 biotics. We destroyed that hive, however.”

She nodded, “Good, then at the very least I hope that you can expand quickly and clear out as many of them as you can. If you leave them longer, they’ll begin to set up their own territories. That might not seem like a big deal now, but Gen 2 is when biotics begin to create their own ecosystems. You never quite know how bad it’ll be until you’re right in the middle of their land, but it’s never a pleasant experience.” She paused and then sighed, “And then there’s the inordinate amount of Unique’s that your planet seems to be generating.”

“We can handle them,” I frowned, “If that’s what your getting at.”

“Yes, yes, you say that,” she tapped her fingers against the table, “But you don’t understand the gravity of that statement as of yet. Unique’s are the engine of biotic development. I’m not telling you this politically; I’m giving you a word of advice here. Push this hard, clear anything and everything you can get to, because if you start backsliding then the least of your problems are going to be biotics.” She ominously declared.

My confusion must have been evident, because in spite of the conternation on Foma’s face, he added, “She’s referring to groups aside from our council. But it’s unconfirmed and highly prone to word of mouth and the whims of rumor at best.”

“The Rogue Fleets?” Sraga’s flexible hair twitched, “Those are real?”

Even as they began to explain to me what they were, I began to fill in the gaps with a quick search. “Effectively,” Foma began, “there are several civilizations worth of military forces that have, over time, lost their homes to biotic incursions and infestations. They are not an insignificant number, and are not terribly unlike a paramilitary corporation when it comes to killing biotics. However, they are fanatical and sometimes very unstable. They are sometimes as much of a bane in the civilized systems as they are a boon. While one hand kills biotics on a world, the other ravages it for resources. More than that, however, is that many of these fleets will hunt down and eradicate any hives or Unique’s on principle. Some of the stronger ones have been said to glass worlds deemed irrecoverable in order to ensure a zero-sum game is upheld.”

“If I may.” The words drew every eye to the table in the room that had thus far been dead silent. The black armored reaper in the middle of the trio indicated with an open three fingered hand. When no one said anything, he continued, “There are rogue fleets with the capability to glass worlds, or worse. It is also true that they are unrepentant destroyers. If the Unique Biotic population on earth becomes too powerful, it is a strong possibility that the earth will be culled.” He turned his gaze to me, and though I couldn’t see his eyes within the helmet I could feel the weight of his attention, “But that changes nothing. A Reaper lives to annihilate biotics, to fail that purpose is to die.”

I felt a chill run up my spine and then rush back down with an electric tingle. His words felt right somehow, spoke to something deep in my reforged mind.

“With all respect,” Daltama warily prefaced, “I still believe it would be prudent to ensure that you keep the situation well in hand.”

I nodded to the Reaper even as I considered what Daltama might have been indicating, “So you’re suggesting that I seek outside help?”

“That is the case.” She nodded, casting an eye to Yamak Rettle, the Artorian Mercenary Company CEO holding her own gaze with a steely glint.

I had to admit, watching Yamak that moment, I’d thought that perhaps his earlier relaxed countenance was fabricated. He genuinely seemed as though he’d shoot Daltama right then and there. After a few more seconds, he simply shifted his focus to me, “Your call, but I highly doubt it’ll be cheap. And there aren’t many - if any at all - mercs that would go so far out of their way as to help a backwater world. No offense, but you’re just not on anyone’s radar. So,” he gestured to Daltama off hand, not even sparing her a glance, “She’d probably want to negotiate something as to long term trade rights.”

“Not so,” Daltama’s immediate answer surprised the both of us, “What I would be assisting with would be more in line with the opposite of getting more bodies out there. Yours is a new world, and there are plenty who would want to get their hands on information regarding it.”

She then turned her gaze to Princess Arianna, “With some exceptions, the location of earth is not yet known to the general public. There are some general indications, of course, but in the course of these proceedings in the interest of insuring that there were no external factors, we have kept the location of the planet from wide circulation. That won’t last forever, but given circumstances as they are, I think we of this council can agree that keeping you off the radar for awhile longer would be beneficial to all parties involved.”

I paused, looking at her, searching for any motive that I could think of as to why she would be doing that. After several seconds, I couldn’t think of any kind of obvious ploy, and that unnerved me even more.

Staying off the radar would be helpful in these early stages, but in spite of that, I was wary of anything offered, especially free.

Even so, I couldn’t easily refuse the offer, “Well, I could hardly say no.” Warily, I nodded to her, “I’ll reiterate again that I accept nothing more than for the postponement of our location, you understand that, right?”

She grinned widely, like she was revelling in her own private joke, “Of course, it’s simply a favor. You can consider it a welcome gift from old Daltama.”

‘Yup, I’m suspicious as hell of this one.’ I blinked in her direction quizzically. I hoped that, maybe, there really weren’t strings attached. The rest of the council looked equally perplexed, it seemed this particular individual wouldn’t be easy to deal with in the future.

“That aside, then.” I shook my head, “We will clear out the biotics as we will, and wish to remain primarily autonomous in the process. Any assistance should be cleared through our political representative and mercantile representative first. I’d like to state this now, as far as anyone in this room should be concerned, earth and the solar system around it should be counted as our own territory. Is there any issue with that?”

“None that this Council moves on.” Foma nodded after a quick deliberation with all members.

‘They’re way too willing.’ I frowned, “Next is the issue regarding technologies. We intend on importing a great deal of blueprints and other technologies for use against biotics. We will purchase them for our own use and modify them as we wish. Any organization that wants to support humanity is welcome to do so, but only if such effort is extended reasonably to all parties, no single group of humans, whether by area or belief, should be focused on in any occasion. All such gifts will be routed through the Obelisk system for record, and any gifts or otherwise received outside of the Obelisk will only be accepted with approval from an as yet designated group of diplomatic representatives.” I then nodded to Yezzek and Lazka from their newly seated position at another table, “Any specifics to this policy can be fleshed out by Yezzek and Lazka.”

“Fair enough. Then we have a few stipulations we’d like to place in reverse, I believe.” Foma considered, now settling into a familiar routine. We debated back and forth for quite a while, detailing some general guidelines for further interaction between humanity and the galaxy at large. For the most part, many provisions were left open with intent to modify after human representatives could fill positions, at least provisionally. Yezzek would be partly our political sponsor and representative, though the position was symbolic in nature he would wield a great deal of power as my stand-in whenever I couldn’t make it. All for the best, given the nature of what we’d agreed upon earlier.

I’d had to make some concessions, however. For instance, while we would be allowed to own our solar system, we would still be subject to taxes and fees related to mining and the like as though we were a part of council space. There were many, many stipulations to that effect, so many that I’d found my head was nearly spinning by the time we were finished. Luckily, Lazka tore into the proponents of the bill and quickly restacked the odds in our favor, Yezzek then pushing for certain factors harder than others. In the end, we’d come out of it very well off. While the council would receive something of a tax, the vast majority would belong solely to us, with no trade restrictions. A deal that was, according to Lazka, better than pretty much anything else in the galaxy. It seemed for the most part that most occupied systems had such an iron grip on resources that it was often too difficult to open up new operations. Hence, many sought to race to the edges of civilized space for greater opportunities for resources.

Given the current state of biotic threat, though, many of these operations required security. In the case of a council race, that security came from either the council or a paramilitary corporation on their dollar. As such, prices increased for such expeditions, and while it was quite lucrative, it was also incredibly risky.

We would be able to decrease our expenditures significantly, at least once we were actually able to begin any kind of space-faring operation. Additionally, I was able to estimate that the material resources available from our system would be quite rich. There were also additions to that, stating that so long as a reasonable hold could be established by us, we would be allowed to occupy further systems, and could purchase them exclusively later.

“Then I think that’s all for the major portions,” I allowed myself a sigh of relief, nearly an hour of debate had managed to lay some general groundwork to build off of in the future. By no means was it complete, but it’d get us by.

“So it seems,” Foma nodded, “It seems that, perhaps, this accord will be of greater benefit than I believed previously.”

“A rare opportunity,” Daltama agreed, “I hope that our relations going forward will be a positive and mutually beneficial one.”

“Likewise,” I nodded to the council as they prepared to leave. They would need to go back to the main council chamber soon enough in order to reconvene. I didn’t believe that there would be nothing more that I would have to look out for, but for the most part, I did believe that we had a pretty wide net covering most things.

“Yamak Rettle,” I began, turning my attention to him now, “Let's discuss the particulars of the contract here.”

The man nodded, “I normally lay out the terms of our employment first, may I?”

After assenting, he stated, “The Artorian Mercenary Company takes all offers of employment seriously. As a part of our charter, we do not participate in any missions requiring acts of genocide against true-sentients, we do not destabilize groups or countries, we do not kidnap or otherwise commit acts that would go against the Sentient Species Rights conventions, and we do not operate in dark space. Our mercenary company has been in operation for 59 years and since its inception we have held a 97 percent successful completion rating, with 1 percent ending in cancelled jobs, 1 percent mild failures, and 1 percent catastrophic failures. We take confidentiality seriously, and also do our best to keep collateral damage to a minimum.”

“That said, we at the Artorian Company are not dispensable. If we find ourselves in a situation that is more dangerous than is reasonably expected of the job, we may abandon and cancel the job. Given our metrics, you can probably tell that doesn’t happen often. Even so, I must tell you that us accepting a job does not guarantee completion, but it is very likely. We operate on a one-price solution, usually, and as such our price is generally quite high. We spare no expense to maximize chance of success. I’d also like to state here that it is a bonafide fact that we are the boast the highest success rate of any mercenary of our size category and come with the added bonus of being very photogenic.”

I listened to his pitch, somewhere along the lines becoming fascinated with the pitch. The man was, if nothing else, very charismatic. Carefully, I considered things as he spoke, nothing in particular seeming to be off.

Then I remembered that I wasn’t just hiring him as a mercenary for one job. He’d definitely managed to shift my frame of mind from a commanding position to that of a customer very easily. I chuckled, “Well, I can certainly tell that you’re well accustomed to this. Then let's talk business.”

I noticed him smile, “Of course.”

“First off, I understand that you personally are making a great deal of money off of our Obelisks, is that true?” I kept my voice neutral, studying his features. The other people in the room, now just the Reapers, Yezzek, Lazka, Uthakka, and Arianna, all turned to the man with light smiles.

“Uh… well… that’s a hard question. I’m afraid I don’t recall off hand.” He coughed, avoiding the answer, “A bit?”

“A lot.” Lazka answered, “Given that we’re all companions now, it’d be wrong of me not to help you remember the specifics.”

He then sent the copies of the reported earnings to everyone in the room.

It looked, for just a brief moment, that a bit of the spark went out in Yamak’s eyes. He bounced back, even as we all looked at the--

‘What the fucking hell? This much?’ My eyes boggled at the many zeroes at the end of the number. “You’ve made this much?”

“Oh, no, sorry, that’s the monthly projected breakdown,” Lazka answered, in spite of Yamak’s eyes screaming murder at him.

“I… see.” I blinked at Yamak, “While I want to pay you, I definitely can’t match this. You’re getting a small percent of what everyone on Earth hunts, right?”

“I, y-yes, that’s true. So, of course, I can’t expect you to be able to match this kind of quantity,” He begrudgingly responded, though I could almost feel his unwillingness to answer, “We can definitely negotiate on that front.”

“Of course. Now, how much do you make from the biotics you hunt when you’re ordinarily on the job?” I asked him, noting the evil glint in Lazka’s eyes. He must have harbored some ill will for getting him involved in all of this towards Yamak. I refrained from laughing, but only just.

“Usually we get five percent,” he shrugged, “Most merc companies rely on the pay from the client, since you can field a massive contingent and end up fighting nothing. You’d just lose out on cash. But, no self-respecting merc would dare show up with anything less if it was a battlefront.”

I nodded, “Thirty percent off the top, we’ll cover general logistics planet side and work with a semi-permanent contract. If this goes well, and all parties be willing, we might be amenable to making you an exclusive contract for earth. Of course, I don’t have the right to say that for everyone, but you understand the possibilities there, down the road, yes?”

I saw his face turn down in thought. Thirty percent wasn’t that amazing, but even so, the other potential benefits tipped it far more in his favor. Logistical planning was expensive for military operations, arguably among the most costly in any kind of war effort. Being a long term operation, this would work in his favor significantly. A long term contract would be good as well, one that couldn’t be easily terminated even better. Finally, when we eventually won, though that was quite a ways off at this point, we would potentially need someone to help fill in the gaps in what our own military couldn’t do. That, and there might be any number of people willing to fill the mercs own group, making up for losses or simply allowing for a blooming expansion of personnel.

The downside was the cost of getting to Earth in the first place, and then potentially low per-biotic M.E. give back until more powerful biotics began to flourish. At that point, they’d be all over the place if we didn’t have the situation well in hand. It was risky.

But, as he looked up, a smile on his face, I knew what he’d selected.

“Alright, we’re going to need a bit more on the day to day, but at least provisionally you’ve got me. It’ll take us a while to get out there, not sure how much yet, but at the minimum two months.”

“Fair enough, Yamak.” I nodded, and then added, “On another note, though, I did was to thank you. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think many people would be left alive back home.”

That stopped him for a moment, a brief moment of uncharacteristic shyness overcoming the man, “Ah, well, that… I’m glad for that, but you don’t have to thank me for it.”

“No, really. Accept my gratitude for what it is.” I reiterated, “If those many Obelisks weren’t there, I have no illusions that most of humanity would be gone by now. We have starved or been devoured, so, thank you.”

“That’s cute,” I heard Arianna murmur, smiling broadly at the dark purple flush that was just barely coloring Yamak’s cheeks, “He just can’t take such a geniune compliment.”

“Hey, human,” Uthakka grinned, “Would you mind if some saurian hitched a ride? I’m interested in seeing what you guys are really like on the ground.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea! Can I come too?” Arianna grinned, “I really like your movies and music, they’re great.”

My brain slowed as I tried to process that. Were they serious? “Uh… sure? I mean, I’ll leave that up to Yamak to decide. Ask him.”

He was immediately beset by the pair, and spared me a quick dirty glance that I averted my gaze from.

‘Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,’ I joked mentally, turning to catch the Reaper’s as they rose from their seats.

“Matthew Reaper,” the lead one approached, “If that offer is open, we’d like to come as well. We have our own vessels, of course.”

The three continued to bicker excitedly in the background, “I see no reason not too. Just so long as you don’t make any problems for me.”

“I like that,” the feminine one spoke, “‘don’t make any problems for me.’” She mimicked my voice perfectly and then refocused her attention on me, “Don’t worry, the two of us are just looking to actually meet you, perhaps assess what you might be to the Corps overall later.”

“Don’t say it like that,” the narrow headed man spoke, and I noticed how his helmet has small barbed protrusions from the back of his head, much like feathers. “Everyone brings something different to the Reaper Corps, some are fast, some move strangely--”

“Some melt things to slag,” the third, largest Reaper offered.

“--That they do. But I don’t think I’ve seen many with your propensity to technology like this.”

“I thought you humans were flesh, mostly?” The big one asked, “Oh, I’m Grousk by the way, nice to meet ya, Reaper.”

“You didn’t call him a fledgling?” The woman asked, “I’m Nanira. And sorry, sometimes I get off track, I have multiple thoughts going at the same time.”

“He’s already killed a Harrowing,” Grousk shrugged, “He’s practically a fully fledged Reaper now.”

“I am Querax.” He ignored the other two, “I wouldn’t be worried about our presence in any case. We Reaper’s tend to stay away from politics. It’s… much better that way. Trust me. In fact, I’d suggest distancing yourself from these kinds of places as much as you can, as fast as you can.”

“At the top of my list,” I assured him truthfully, “My Legion is where I belong.”

He seemed satisfied with that answer, “Good. I look forward to seeing what you have made on your homeworld. Many of us tend to go it alone. In any case, we must be going, but do contact us if you find it necessary.”

“Or just want to,” Grousk shrugged, “I’m glad this is coming up so we have an excuse to get out of this pla--”

“We’re delighted to go see your planet.” Nanira cut him off, “Here, our contact information.”

I felt a blip into my senses as information on where to contact the three came into my mind. “I have it, thank you. Then I’ll contact you all at some point. For now, I have a few more things to wrap up before going home.”

“Don’t intend to stay for the general meeting?” Querax voice practically smirked with bemusement.

I shook my head, “Not if I don’t have too.”

“Then I wish you a fair journey. May your path be paved with victories ‘til we meet again.”