《Small Galaxy》Small Galaxy: Chapter 22 The Galactic Compact High Council. PT.3
Advertisement
An old raccoon eyed Basillius from the side of the room for a while, watching the various races make their introductions. After most of the council had met with the Terran he decided it was his time. He walked over towards Basillius with a confidence in his step that he hadn't had moments ago. "I am most pleased to make your acquaintance child. My name is Nadim, High Councilor of the Rantari peoples. I hope that your race and my own may get along well for the foreseeable future. I do wish to let you know, however, that this old man will be watching you. You are accepted, not trusted. There are strange cults with you at the center being touted as some god of death and you've even managed to rope in two of our Council already. On top of all that, you look like the manifestation of all evil," he said with clear disdain in his voice.
Basillius raised an eyebrow at the old raccoon, "Uhhh... Did... Did you just call me kid and threaten me? Wow... The balls on this thing. Thought you were a trash panda, not a honey badger. Well, first off. I haven't been called a kid in over a thousand years in this universe's flow of time, let alone the million-plus years I spent in the veil... So, I guess I gotta say, thanks for the compliment. Secondly, Mr. Nadim... I don't need your trust yet, nor do I expect it. I just showed up out of thin air. I honestly expected more pushback. I don't need your trust to give you all the tech needed to defend yourself after all. Finally, I literally can't help the way I look now. Believe me. I've tried to change it. The edginess only gets worse..."
Nadim went wide-eyed for a moment before scowling and walking away as he threw his hands in the air and mumbled, "Bah! Nonsense through and through. Nobody could live that long."
Basillius waved in the next one. It looked to be another fishtank but he couldn't see what was in it. The fishtank hovered over to him and hit the lights that were shining onto the stage. Basillius' eyes widened as the creature floated around with a slight tremble.
"My name is Fwuki. Do not fear me... I know my form may resemble those you fight, but I am no threat to you. I wish for our people to get along well, though it is my fear that my people will face discrimination amongst yours for our resemblance to the tentacled monstrosities that you fought in space. I would appreciate it if you just gave me the bad news now. If you believe that my people will face discrimination, let it be known now. I beg of you... don't give us false hope." she said, with despair lingering in her voice already.
Advertisement
Basillius smiled at the little cuttlefish as she tried to act confident while hiding behind some coral. "Meeting you is a pleasure, little one. You are actually far from feared by my people all ready. There is quite a following of folks who love and care for your distant cousins as if they were their own kin. You are an incredibly adorable little thing, and I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone would hurt you."
Fwuki changed into a myriad of reddish colors before going nigh invisible. " Y-y-you said that I'm.... adorable... Well, that's um.... not what I was expecting. This is certainly an enlightening revelation as, well, most of the galaxy finds my kind to be repulsive... This is the first time that any aliens have told me that I was adorable..."
Catherine immediately jumped out and yelled, "What! How could anyone find you little jelly bubbles repulsive?! You tell big sis Cath who said it and I'll educate them on all things adorable, fluffy, and cute!"
Fwuki just stared at her in confusion, not sure whether or not to be afraid of her enraged yelling, be thankful that she seemed genuinely concerned for her, or just plain confused at being called a 'jelly bubble'. Basillius cleared his throat behind Catherine, "Cath... We are in the middle of probably the most important meeting Terrans have had since the great uplifting. No yelling. I give them a bad enough image of all Terrans as it is. We don't need them thinking that we are completely unhinged as well."
Catherine pouted at Basillius and crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll take the jelly bubble over to the other side of the room so that we can talk about who I need to teach a lesson to." As she finished her sentence she swung her gaze back to Fwuki and then started pushing her tank to another side of the building.
With that done, the next Councilor began making their way over. The being that stepped out of the shadows was possibly the most colorful and gaudy thing he had seen in his life, and he had seen Catherine's room. The peacock began to swagger into the light of the stage. It poofed its tail feathers out in a show of colors as it introduced itself. "I am Madame Cha. I am the supreme color of the Yen'Titi. Well? are you in awe of my fantastic plumage yet? I am after all, quite interested in some of the more.... exotic activities, and you... you are very exotic." she said while fluffing out her plumage.
Advertisement
Basillius blinked in disbelief, and Amaranth just glared at the bird from Basillius' shoulder. Basillius snapped out of his confusion after what felt like an eternity. "Ah... maybe.... maybe some other time Madame Cha... I am nonetheless pleased to make your acquaintance. May our people prosper together." As he stared at the brightly colored bird a thought popped into mind, 'Aren't the colorful peacocks the males?'
Madame Cha fluffed her plumage some more and then took a few steps closer to Basillius before turning and letting her feathers brush against Basillius' shin before walking away. "Then until next time. I can't wait to see what you have beneath that metal,"
Basillius' didn't even know what to say. He just shook his head in confusion as he waved in the next council member. This one was hopping to him. The little bunny made its grand entrance onto the stage with a somewhat shaky set of jumps before landing several feet away from Basillius. "I am called Venn. I am but an elected representative from the kingdom of Rasen peoples. I do not want any trouble... I will not lie, I am terrified of you. You could kill me with your little toe... but, I stand before you as Tarma's peer. Thusly, I cannot be allowed to make a damned fool of myself. I will put aside my innate instinct to run in the hope that you will not burn my worlds, or at the very least, I hope that you will not allow these space Yambi to burn my worlds." he said, visibly shaking.
Basillius knelt down as close as he could to the Rabbit. "Do not worry small one. You are considered a friend. My people will do all we can to support you. We will not allow your kingdom to meet its doom. Do not fear my people for we have nothing but love to give you."
Venn leapt off the stage as quickly as he had come, though significantly less shaky. Last but not least, this one looked familiar. "My name is Kane, I come representing the Atteni peoples republic and I am formally requesting to have my people returned," he said, exhaustion and fear clear in his voice.
Basillius nodded and looked behind himself. "Pleased to meet you Kane, sorry for keeping them. They were apparently formally declared ambassadors of your people by the way. They have at the very least been living like kings for the few days they were in Catherine's care. Well, if they wish to go back to you, then that is their prerogative."
The three Atteni stepped out of the crowd that was behind Basillius and moved to his feet. So'Ran walked right up to Kane, "Good to see you old friend! My, it feels like ages since I last saw you! Sorry for just leaving to see these Terrans up-close, but for me, the most important thing in life... is knowledge. Pursuit of knowledge over the fear of death, as I always did say."
Kane scrunched his brow. "Is... is that you, So'Ran?... I did not recognize you at all... still don't actually, but the other two are over there. So that means that your wrinkly old self turned back into a youngling. I actually don't know what to say... The Terrans just... poofed you back in time? Did they treat you well too? Basillius said they did at least, but I would like to hear it from you."
So'Ran smiled and nodded, "Of course! Ms. Catherine gave us so many things and treated us so well I could almost believe it if she told me that she was Lunisia herself!"
Kane looked back to the other two Atteni, "What's your take on them? Friendly or no?"
Valthan immediately brightened up as he started speaking, "Friendly! I hope that we become full allies with them! I would love to learn under the tutelage of the gods of engineering! I saw so many life-altering inventions and concepts... So many feats that aren't even theoretically possible by our physical standards... They are worthy of worship, let alone friendship. We should be ecstatic."
Valenthi quirked her eyebrow at Valthan, "Well... They seem like normal people to me honestly. They are definitely friendly. That much I'm sure of. I don't think that they are gods, but friends? Yes."
Kane looked deep in thought for a moment before finally raising his gaze to meet Basillius's own. "I advocate for the alliance on behalf of the Atteni people."
Advertisement
- In Serial92 Chapters
The Blade's Tools
The gods loved to play their games.Raising heroes to go on their grand quests.Defeating demons, uncovering relics, dealing with some new turmoil or another. However, for Asteruse, a simple helper in a simple village, these epic adventures were too far removed for him to consider them as anything more than tales told in stories.All he wanted in life? To be with his friends, his family, and his love, Elize. So long as he could keep these things close to him he could let others go on their quests and risk their lives. All that wasn't for him. But the gods loved to play their games
8 194 - In Serial18 Chapters
The Chilling Fox and the Indecisive *Barsted* (Complete)
Meet Claire Peterson…“It’s Stella!”-…Then, meet Stella, whom will never admit to anybody that she shouldn’t have been so stubborn to leave home at the age of twelve.“That’s right! Don’t tell anyone or I’ll chop of ya balls or boobs!”…Learning to steal became her job…Being a stripper, that’s just a cover up for her real job…Yet, on one night in the tenth strip joint that she’s leisurely worked at, she was making her rounds to get some monies, and happens across a handsome man that glared at her…Making her give back what she had attempted to take.“Yeah…My bad…”She’s a thief and an escape artist and was able to get away from that handsome glare, but then…She had two lots of people trying to track her down, instead of one.Dawdling her way around, chilling out and staying just out of the arms of others, Stella has finally been captured, yet, this ‘fox’ seems to make things hard for Alec, who changes plans more then once, so that he can figure out what to do with her! The families of Peterson and Jackson ‘aren’t friends’. Strangely, both families seem to have a bad side to them that goes against the law…“Is that really important!?”…In the recent history between the two families, gives a child knowledge of losing his family through viciousness.Meet Alec Jackson…“He’s a bastard!”…Meet the Bastard, whose mother had gone missing, to come back pregnant, then to hang herself, while he was nine. And then his father had been shot right in the head, when he was ten.The Peterson’s gave him hate, they took his family away from him and he can only find justice in growing up and taking it himself! What she is best at, is ‘chillin out’ but ‘Stella’ seems unable to feel, making ‘the bastard’ have to work hard to fulfil his plan…Plans…As he continues to look ‘bad’, yet has a reputation of being ‘good’…*Narrator walks off in a huff*“Geez, someone’s got their knickers in a knot! He forgot to say there’s swearing and that it’s for mature audiences…Ah! I suppose he’ll need his wallet back…” One word in the title has been changed so that it can be placed on the site.
8 106 - In Serial9 Chapters
Apex Immortal: a LitRPG system rampage
"Across the multiverse where the contest for power is the only constant, only a handful have succeeded in reaching the ultimate heights of ascendency and gained the title Apex Immortal. Dominus is one of them, unsurpassed in overwhelming violence, feared across universes. Now, memories locked and stranded far away from everything he’d built, Dominus will face enemies that will challenge even his powers and discover that change is more difficult than destruction." I’ve been writing fiction on and off for the last decade and I’ve always wondered how a peak immortal (or an OP superhero) would single handedly conquer a world that mirrors our own in all of its complexity. As a politics nerd, this is my attempt at answering that question using Machiavelli’s “The Prince” as the primary playbook. The “monsters” are entire political systems with entrenched culture. Expect many versions of real world political systems (and cultures) to be on the hit list. The MC has to successfully institute regime and cultural change without engaging in wholesale genocide and causing the state to fail. Expect things to go wrong pretty quickly as escalating and cascading political and economic effects rapidly go out of control. Methods deployed are not for the faint hearted.
8 186 - In Serial24 Chapters
The Account of the Golden Bamboo
Some years ago, a man betrayed his nation and this lead to the fall of the Kingdom of Eustacia. Now, under the Tzappian's rule, the lives of Eustacians are unbearably difficult. This story follows the growth of Tar, who tries his hardest to be a good person despite the world telling him he's not. Is his father a good person, or is he an unredeemable traitor? (Some feedback would be nice!)
8 240 - In Serial45 Chapters
Bad Boy Next Door
Cassie Rickards hated everything about Chace Wayne- the school's cocky, arrogant, player and Bad Boy. Added the fact that he dated and broke all her 3 bestfriends heart. She swears to hate him all her life.Though, what if one day she finds out that her new neighbour is her most hated person. Will hate still prevail or will something else?
8 75 - In Serial54 Chapters
Guts (the original interactive zombie apocalypse survival story)
** PREVIOUSLY A FEATURED HORROR STORY**The dead have risen. You wake up in the middle of this violent, rotting new world. The putrid stench of carnage is in the air. You flip on the news to learn that dead people are coming back and cannibalizing every living creature in sight. A never-ending cycle of death and the rise of the undead has begun. Will you fall prey to the undead, or have you got what it takes to survive?Females and males can participate! In Guts you control your fate. You will choose your own path to survival or death, so choose wisely. Good luck . . .
8 166

