Despite Remi’s grudging consent to cooperate with their investigation, the situation aboard Peacemaker was far from settled. Rúna and her Valkyries were still furious about being forcibly disarmed, while Captain Taneka and her crew had been sidelined and kept from the ship’s more sensitive areas, embittering them as well. Genvass was struggling to ease tensions between the factions but was having little luck. Hoping to settle their differences, the ambassador requested a joint meeting of the various parties. The pilot, Xuilan, begged off, stating that someone needed to mind the store, but after a few hours of negotiations, the others finally agreed to meet.

Filing into the Mess Hall each of the factions found a corner to huddle up and eyeball the others. Ess Peon appeared on a monitor near Rúna’s cohort, and while Samara hovered near the ship’s crew, there was a noticeable space between them. Genvass, on the other hand, had placed himself in the center of the room in order to moderate the proceedings. Based on the scowls he observed from those in attendance, he had his work cut out for him.

Taking a deep breath, he plastered a smile on his face and kicked things off. “Thank you all for coming,” he told his audience. “I know there are a great number of issues before us, and plenty of potent feelings regarding the subjects at hand, but I hope that with honest dialogue we can find common ground.”

“Don’t count on it,” Rúna muttered, giving Remi a dirty look.

With a sigh, he faced his security chief. “That’s not helpful,” he said in reprove. “I understand your anger, but we’re here to settle our differences, not exacerbate them.”

“Fine. Give us back our weapons,” she snapped, still eyeing Peacemaker’s captain.

“Over my dead body,” Remi said flatly.

“I can arrange that,” she fired back, fingering the hilt of her sword.

“This is a waste of time,” he snarled, rising to his feet. “We’re done with this meeting.” With a jerk of his head, he motioned to the other crewmembers, heading for the exit. Genvass rushed to intercept them.

“Please,” he beseeched the group, “don’t leave. I know this isn’t easy, but if we’ve learned anything, it’s that we’re stronger together than we are divided. Especially now.”

Remi eyed the ambassador with suspicion. “And what exactly do you get out of all of this?” he demanded. “A feather in your cap? A pat on the back for a job well done, or at least a valiant effort? Who are you trying to impress?”

“No one,” he answered. “This isn’t about scoring points, Captain, or garnering favors. I am trying to find a peaceful way to resolve our differences, and I could really use your help. So please, come back to the discussion. It won’t be easy, and I’m not claiming otherwise. But it is important. For all of us.”

The Corsair stared at him, searching for some hint of deception or hidden agendas. Genvass merely waited, allowing him the time he needed to make his choice. After several moments of standoff, the captain relented, reversing course and retaking his seat with his crew following in his wake, obviously surprised by his decision.

“Thank you,” Genvass said sincerely, before trying again. “Now, in order to make this as fair as possible, I’ve…”

“... I’ve got something to say,” Captain Taneka interrupted, facing the beleaguered captain. “You’ve got issues with the other clans, that’s your business. And I haven’t forgotten what you’ve done for Karl,” she continued, singling out her XO, recently healed from his wounds. “But we’re Corsairs, same as you,” she said, somewhat forcefully.

“Err… I’m not,” Diggs said, raising his hand, only to earn an elbow to the ribs from Mako’s chief engineer.

Taneka shot him a look before continuing. “Not only that, we helped you out after that fight with the Yīqún. I’d expect some common courtesy for that alone, but you’ve kept us away from the bridge, engineering, hell, practically the entire ship. What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll steal it out from under you?” she snorted.

“I never give up a prize, and I’m not starting now,” he answered. “I shouldn’t have to explain that to a Corsair. Besides, you got a beef with the way we’re doing things? Take it up with her,” he growled, jerking his head towards Samara. “Whole thing was her idea.”

“Way to throw me under a battlecruiser,” the Protean grumbled, shaking her head. “And besides, it was actually the Dàifu’s twisted scheme, if we’re giving credit where credit is due. I was just gullible enough to fall for it.”

All eyes turned to Genvass as he shrugged in resignation. “It’s true,” he admitted. “The evidence we have is circumstantial but appears genuine. For reasons we do not yet understand, the Dàifu seems to be intentionally provoking a confrontation between Terrans and the other races of the galaxy.”

“Wait a minute,” Ess Peon chimed in, “she was the one who organized this mission,” the Avatar pointed out. “Hell, she even came up with the whole ‘Terran Diplomatic Corps’ idea in the first place. She recruited me, Rúna, Taneka… even you, Ambassador. Why would she do that if she’s trying to start a fight?”

“A question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately,” Genvass glumly nodded. “With what we now know, I suspect she was deliberately setting us up to fail. Considering how the conference ended, I’d say she achieved her goal.”

“That makes no sense either,” Samara interjected. “If you were all bumbling incompetents, that would be one thing, but you’re not. You all have decent track records in your respective fields, though I admit some of you may be a little junior for the positions you’re currently holding. But other than that, if I were planning this mission and someone handed me your résumés, I wouldn’t have a problem with any of them.”

“Maybe she couldn’t make it look too obvious,” Taneka mused, warming to the notion. “I mean, none of us have actually done diplomacy before, other than maybe Genvass.”

“Or maybe she just didn’t care what you did,” Remi snorted as he joined the conversation. “What makes you think you’re the only iron she’s got in the fire?”

That gave Genvass pause. “It’s certainly possible she has other wheels in motion,” he agreed, “though I can’t imagine what they are.”

“He’s right,” Rúna said suddenly, her head snapping up. “It makes no sense to destroy diplomatic relations now. All it does is make us a pariah. Where’s the payoff? What’s the endgame? She has to have something in mind, otherwise, this is nothing more than a giant tantrum, and she’s too smart for that.”

“I’m not following,” the ambassador said finally. “Where are you going with this?”

“I’m saying you don’t go to all this trouble of laying the groundwork for war if you’re not prepared to exploit it,” she spelled out. “Only problem is our ships are flying deathtraps…”

“... I beg your pardon?” Taneka barked, outraged at the slur.

“No offense,” the Valkyrie quickly apologized, “but we need to be real here. Compared to what the other races have? Our ships are old, underpowered, and worn out. And before you remind me how valiantly they fought at the Battle of Terra Nova, let me remind you we had the Alliance on our side for that one, not to mention Athena.”

“She is correct,” Samara said suddenly, but they all immediately recognized Guardian’s odd inflections coming from her mouth. “It is strategically unsound to incite a galaxy-wide conflict while lacking the means to capitalize on such an opening maneuver.”

“And it’ll be years, decades or more, before we can build ships with Precursor tech,” Remi said slowly, repeating what Samara had reminded him of the day before.

“... You’re right,” Genvass said in sudden realization, as the pieces began falling into place. “Her doing this now is insane. I mean, it was already insane, but if it was going to be fifty years or a hundred or even longer before we had a navy they couldn’t touch, why start a fight now? It would have been smarter and easier to just wait, biding her time while she built up goodwill with the other worlds. Maybe toss them a few baubles to keep them happy while we gathered intelligence, made contacts, perhaps even suborned a few over to our side. Starting a war now and having nothing to fight with makes absolutely no sense.”

“Maybe she’s just impatient,” Taneka suggested, “or she’s nuts.”

“No, this entire scheme is too well orchestrated for that,” Ess Peon decided. “It won’t wash.”

“We’re missing something,” the ambassador recognized, “some crucial piece of the puzzle. There has to be an answer, but what it is?” He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“So, where does that leave us?” Remi demanded. “We all agree that it’s a big mystery. Fine. That still doesn’t address any of the other issues we’re arguing about, and no one’s even mentioned the To’uuk, but you know it’s gonna come up eventually.” He glared at them all, daring them to disagree. “What are we going to do about all of that?”

“I believe we should continue discussing those other points of contention,” Genvass agreed, “but perhaps not in this venue. For example, your disagreement with the Valkyries does not require Captain Taneka’s input, does it?”

The two Corsair captains shared a look and shook their heads. “Like I said… none of my business,” Taneka repeated, begging off.

Genvass gave her a grateful nod. “As for the To’uuk, that dispute is liable to be both contentious and divisive in the extreme… so much so that I request we table its discussion for now.” He held up his hands. “Obviously we need to talk about it at some point, but our situation is tenuous enough as it is. I’d prefer to address and hopefully resolve the other topics first before tackling that one. If everyone agrees, that is.”

They exchanged glances around the compartment as those in attendance gauged the other groups’ reactions. The tension in the air was palpable as they each searched for some sign of where the others stood before committing their own opinions on the matter. But one by one, each faction slowly agreed, no more eager to delve into an already complicated dilemma that was unlikely to be resolved anytime soon than the rest.

“Thank you,” the ambassador said gratefully. “I’ll get to work on some sort of schedule as soon as possible. I thank you all for your patience and understanding, and I promise to do everything in my power to begin resolving these disputes. That’s all I have for now.”

It took them a moment to realize the meeting was now over, but with a collective shrug, those in attendance began retreating to whence they’d come, with Remi casting an odd glance over his shoulder as he exited the compartment. Rúna remained behind, looking up in surprise as Samara joined them.

“Nice speech,” the Protean remarked. “I’m impressed.”

“Thank you,” he told her, “though it remains to be seen if it does any good.”

“You got people talking and actually agreeing, instead of just yelling at each other,” Rúna pointed out. “That’s gotta count for something.”

“Starting a fight is easy,” he explained, “but keeping the peace takes sustained effort. It’s hard work, and the moment you stop it all falls apart.” He took a moment to clear his head and then turned to his companions. “Now, what can I do for the both of you?”

“We’ll be back on New Terra in a few days,” Samara said. “What are your intentions when we arrive?”

“I don’t know,” Genvass sighed. “Confront the Dàifu about her involvement in all of this and try to figure out a way to undo some of the damage. But if you’re asking me for something more concrete, I can’t help you. I’m still trying to make sense of it all.”

The Protean nodded. “About what I expected,” she told him. “I hope you don’t intend on meeting her alone.”

“Absolutely not,” Rúna said zealously, speaking up before he could respond. “I’ll be right beside him when he meets with her, with my team on standby.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary…” he began, only to earn stern looks from both women.

“Your clan leader is trying to start a galaxy-wide war,” Samara said flatly. “Do you honestly believe for even an instant she would hesitate in having you erased if you interfere?”

“Erased?” Genvass said in confusion.

“She means murdered,” Rúna snarled. “Killed. Executed. Done away with, your body dumped somewhere it won’t be found. Whatever term you like.”

The ambassador blanched, goggling at them both. “You can’t mean that.”

The two women shared a brief glance. “I think I can safely say that your security chief and I disagree on pretty much everything,” Samara said with bone-dry humor, “but in this instance, we’re on the same page.” The expression on Rúna’s face confirmed her suspicions. “There is zero chance she’ll take this lying down, Genvass. She will fight back, I guarantee it.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Which is why I’ll be joining your little meeting as well.”

“Why?” the Valkyrie demanded.

She graced her counterpart with a wintry smile. “I don’t enjoy being played. Whatever surprises she might have in store, they won’t work on me.”

Rúna’s eyes narrowed as she gauged her response. “I’d feel a lot better about this if I knew for sure which side you’re on,” she said at last.

Samara merely chuckled. “I’m surprised at you. I would have thought by now you’d already know the answer to that.” She leaned in, smiling sweetly. “I’m on my side.”

“That may be the most honest thing you’ve ever said to me,” the Marine deadpanned.

Genvass looked on helplessly as the pair finished negotiations. “I don’t suppose I have any say in this?” he asked.

“No,” they said in unison.

“I was afraid of that.” His shoulders slumped in resignation. “Then of course I welcome having both of you with me when I meet with the Dàifu,” he said at last.