Chapter eight(M)

There are a few more suspected Ancient structures lying around. For example, anomaly AA-X-594 is a pair of binary stars orbiting in a stable ♾ symbol with two planets in the holes. We do not know the purpose of this anomaly.

These people are crazy! Completely and utterly nuts. At least, the Grent leader is. He watched me blow up a black hole and he still wants to threaten me. Not to mention every weapon he fired at me doing no damage at all.

Thankfully, the rest seem more sane, which means they’ll probably be open to negotiations.

Now, I could just use force to achieve my goals, but it would give a bad impression and may affect my goals in the long run. Of course, I’m not going to give up on force. It does have its uses in convincing more stubborn people, after all. So, gunboat diplomacy it is.

First, I’m going to negotiate with the Spiril leader. She seems like the most competent leader, not to mention the smartest. I’m still debating whether or not to even negotiate with the Grent leader. From what I’ve heard they’re a race of warmongers. I could present a show of force and they might bow to me, but I don’t really need any biological soldiers, given my armies of drones. What I need is an ally with brain not brawn.

Now, time for negotiations.

“Hello, Selene. Let us have a chat.”

“How did you get in my coms? How do you know my name?” She was defensive. Understandable. After all, I had just hacked her device.

“Your defenses are far too weak to resist me. It was a simple matter to see the files on you. I must say, you are an interesting individual.”

“Hey, that’s private information!” I ignored her. Private is only when you can keep it private.

“You abandoned prisoners to their deaths to save civilians, only to later abandon them as well to save the life of one of your soldiers.”

“I-I-I” She stuttered, my words seemingly having hit a sore spot.

“But enough of that, I did not meet you to discuss your past shortcomings. We have other things to discuss. I am sure you are very interested in a few explanations.”

“Yes, I would like some answers. For example, why did you appear now? What is your purpose?”

I went silent for a bit, her words having brought up some unpleasant memories, but I forced down my emotions.

“Very well, you shall get your answers. The short answer to your first question is that I have only just woken up. The long answer I will not tell you, but it involves the disappearance of the “Ancients”. The answer to your second question I cannot fully reveal to you yet, but rest assured it will not bring harm to you, at least in the short term . I cannot predict the consequences in the long run, however.”

“And why do you want to meet me? Surely not to just answer my questions.”

“A smart one.” I chuckled. “No, I met with you to discuss terms.”

“Terms for what? A treaty? An alliance? A surrender? With your power you could make us all yield to you.”

“I will not solve this with violence, as it will interfere with other plans. No, I wish to negotiate for a treaty.”

“What terms?”

“In essence, you don’t attack me and help me with a few tasks and I will help protect you and do a few favours for you. You help me and I help you.”

“And what’s the catch? This seems too good to be true. We help you a bit and you do anything we ask you to?”

“I will help you a limited amount of times, and I will not do anything too extreme. For example, I could help you win a battle, but I would not completely destroy a nation. I could help you build a ship, but I would not build a weapon of mass destruction. And I will not give you any technology deemed too advanced for your race to handle.”

“It seems more realistic now, but I still feel we are gaining more from this.”

“You are, but I do not need to gain much. Take it as an expression of goodwill, if you will.”

"I will need to discuss this with my superiors."

"Take your time."

"Thank you."