The Tindrel Ambassador burbled quietly, then turned off sound and talked to someone off-holo for a while. João Sequeira conferred with Benoit Souza too - they had become quite a formidable team in the maelstrom following the government dissolution. Their goals seemed to change by the hour, but that was all part of a front for organised defence of Outremer’s holdings and status abroad.

Finally, the Ambassador resumed the conversation after twenty minutes. This was quite common with the Tindrel.

“That is a Demilitarised Control system. As part of the agreement, Tindrel, Qalian-Vosh and Earther parties must consent to any civilian access. What is your objective here?”

“Nothing more or less than to guarantee the security of ourselves and our allies.” Rareth answered without hesitation. “Our efforts to investigate and address this new threat leads us to Psi-Helios.”

Taranik did her best to complement Rareth’s arguments, while keeping more of a diplomatic attitude. “Naturally, we are not expecting you to give us a final answer here and now. We know you do not even have the authority to unilaterally grant this request on the Tindrel’s behalf. We just want you to be informed, so you can convey the…importance of this request to your superiors.”

“The Rahn’Saki considers this a priority request.” Rareth emphasized. They were words which held weight, considering how rarely they were invoked. A priority request from the Rahn’Saki was not something most diplomats would ever hear, and not something one would ignore.

---

Through the day, the council gave similar requests to all the relevant parties to this decision. It was a demand on short notice for some, but Rareth was sure to thoroughly convey the importance of the meeting to each and every one of them. For the Rahn’Saki to take such direct interest in any matter meant that, whatever the subject was, it would have ramifications across an entire civilization. For them to call upon so many nations at once, simply put, was almost unprecedented. The last time this had happened had been long before the lifetimes of any of the other representatives.

The hour was getting late, but there would be no stopping until this matter was resolved. In the time they had been waiting, Rareth had been on her own calls back to Rothia, though even the other Rothians were not privy to the details of those meetings. It was an hour or so before the meeting was scheduled to begin that she sent a request (or polite demand, more accurately), to the other Outreman representatives to join her in a call. Taranik was the one who sent the request and, in as diplomatic of a way as possible, made sure to be clear that this meeting was not optional.

Rareth had stated before that Taranik would be joining her for negotiations, so her absence in the call was conspicuous. Given that this summit with the other nations was drawing ever closer, Rareth wasted no time in getting to business. “Before we bring this to the other species, the Rahn’Saki want to make sure we are all in clear agreement on how this is going to go.”

Joao Sequiera, Benoit Souza and their retinues had been co-ordinating the Outreman side of the preparations from cars. While heading to LHA Hale’s chosen residence, the supercarrier OSC Latinkon, they’d been desperately calling round their Tindrel & QV contacts. The Rothians had pressed ahead with a meeting of five civilisations to discuss Psi-Helios, and all their skeletons were poised to leap out of the closet.

Eventually, the two senior officials had to brief Hale on Outremer’s activity in the system, or risk him finding out from someone else. A Naval Intelligence blacksite may have been training indigenous proxies to fight prospectors from the other three treaty participants. Other operators may have been intentionally provoking the Tindrel & Qalian-Vosh, to stimulate the supply of advanced weapons to both sides.

“Oh you fucking cretins. Why didn’t you tell me before?” Hale shouted at them from behind his desk, deep within the supercarrier’s hull.

“We didn’t want you to get mixed up in all this. Outreman’s are already angry at the establishment for all the unpleasantness in the Cradle. We were trying to manage this covertly.” Souza shot back. Both of them were stood at the other end of the desk, hands clasped behind their backs.

Hale sighed, steepling his long bony fingers on the desk.

"Tell me everything then. We don't have much time."

---

"We have options when it comes to Psi-Helios, Datius Jharn. When it comes to our Cradle, things become a lot more tricky." LHA Hale replied, waggling one finger.

"These aliens have been trying to get their grubby appendages on our crown jewel for a hundred years or more! They won't be so tolerant of its eccentricities and flashes of insanity. They will enslave the Cradle-proper to work for them, crippled and braindead. My men tell me the Navigator is still not fully bonded with the Cradle - it can be separated off and destroyed." Hale was a great orator, with a clear and distinguished voice.

"We can't afford to let that happen."

Benoit Souza jumped in.

"By contrast, the Psi-Helios situation is much more fluid. Our sources close by have said both sides have been massing troops on either side of the system for months. If we tell them something like the Navigator or the Cradle is hidden beneath their feet, there is no predicting what they'll do."

Naturally, Rareth was listening to every word the Humans said, but when they finally looked to her for a response, she was uncharacteristically slow to answer. The whole time they spoke, she had appeared somewhat distracted and frequently glanced off to a holographic screen at her side. “I understand. As I said, the Rahn’Saki wish to speak with you about this. Just give me…one moment…”

Rareth looked off to the side. “Is he ready?” She asked softly, not towards the Humans. An answer seemed to come through, then she finally looked back to the others. “I am going to patch through a secure line to Rothia.”

Rareth stepped back. Unlike almost every other time she had met with the Council, she would not be the one taking the lead in this meeting. Using the Faultless Spear as a relay for the signal, Rareth brought in to the meeting another participant from somewhere on Rothia. Within the virtual space, another Rothian appeared. He was tall, with scales that seemed rather unremarkable by appearance. As opposed to the modern trends of scale patterns portraying complex patterns, and even artwork at times, his scales were simple greens and browns in a natural, camouflaged pattern. Rothians did not age and he was no exception, but between scars and rough scales, he still seemed to wear the marks of many long years on his body. Even for those who could not recognize him by sight, his headdress marked who he was. It resembled a crown of silver bearing an insignia of an arrowhead. It would not take more than a quick search to identify him as Brasikha, one of the most prominent members of the Rahn’Saki. For most Rothians, when one mentioned the Rahn’Saki, it would usually be either he or Roth’Orsa who came to mind. He had earned many titles in his life: the Unifier, the All-Conqueror, the Eternal Guardian, and to any Rothian, meeting him would be like meeting a myth.

From the moment he spoke, Brasikha stood out from any other Rothian they had met. Most prominently, he spoke in a dead, pre-Unification Rothian language that their translators would struggle with. Right away, most of their translators would throw warnings about potential inaccuracies and approximations in their interpretations of his speech. The usual tricks translators used to create more natural conversations would not work with him, so they would still be able to hear his untranslated words faintly in the background, in addition to what the software gave them. “I give apology for any despair wrought by my ubiety, but the determination of the Rahn’Saki is to require our intervention to avoid a dark fate. It is the determination of the Rahn’Saki that a foundation of deceit to alliance in our most vital of circumstance would infect its roots and bring it to crumble, moreso than the banal and expected lie.”

The men shared a glance, arranged in Hale’s office such as they were. A few more aides were present in the background of the meeting - the rest of the Committee were no longer present. These aides quickly explained the significance of this new figure, though it wasn’t necessary; they all already knew to a certain extent.

“Clean up these comms.” Hale snapped in private to them, before responding.

“Hello. I don't understand your meaning - could you elaborate?”

---

The Institute doctors took Freyr to a specially outfitted room aboard the Barbarossa. It was darkened inside, with banks of interfaces throwing up faint blue light onto the ceiling. She could faintly make out a large hexagonal pod with the top slightly ajar. Steps led up to the opening.

“Please change into the clothing provided behind that screen.” One of them gestured; Freyr’s implants outlined the hand to make it clearer. She swallowed the rising tide of bile in her throat. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“We’ve developed some new methods of testing for psychological damage caused by contact with the Cradle.”

“I’d like a chaperone.”

“Very well, we’ll call your legal representative. Please go and change.”

Rareth pulled up a screen in front of her and quickly navigated through to her translator’s software. “I doubt your translators have the proper linguistic libraries to be able to interpret a dead Rothian language. One moment, I can pass you a software package to update them.”

There was a short delay while they addressed their communication issues. Even with updated language packages, the translation would not be seamless enough to make the conversation seem as natural as usual, but the software did at least stop throwing most of its translation warnings. They could still hear Brasikha’s natural voice somewhat muffled in the background after Rareth signaled him that they were ready. “If you can now understand our communication, I say that I understand why you wish to keep our secret from our possible allies. In the struggles of nations, truth and lies are valuable currencies both. So often, our diplomacy lives somewhere betwixt the two. It is…expected. Every nation keeps their own secrets and covets those of others, even their own allies. They do not…take offense at this reality.”

Brasikha’s voice was firm, though not quite aggressive. The voice that the Humans’ translators gave him was more even-toned, with less emotion and emphasis than what they could hear in the background from him. Perhaps it was more fitting to his body language, or lack thereof. There was no pacing, fidgeting, or even the smallest of movements, as he stood almost like a statue while he spoke. “But this lie holds far more weight than the usual games of politics and posturing. The truth we hold in our possession is a reason to fear not just for our lives, but for their lives as well. For our potential allies. It is true we do not have certainties; it could be that there is no true threat to us. But, there lies the possibility that all life in our galaxy will find its existence in jeopardy. That is not the common lie. The stakes are not political standing and economic advantage; the stakes are the continuity of civilization. To lie to them here would give them the right to take offense. We seek to build an alliance, scientifically, militarily, but to found that alliance on falsehoods here would be as to build a fortress on a foundation of sand.”

Hale’s eyes narrowed about two millimetres.

“Our fortress is built on the combined might of two of the strongest navies this galaxy has ever seen. Over a thousand ships of the line of battle, and two million fighters to go with them.”

He swept one forearm out to the side, then clenched a fist.

“I think I know what side of the walls our friends will want to be on, when it comes to it. Regardless of how much they know, they won’t want to face this alone.”

Brasikha did not hesitate for even a moment, not even requiring time to think, seemingly, before he could give his answer. “Your fortress stands alone, as it always has. Sequestered, strong, but solitary. You have shown yourself adept at protecting yourselves, but will you protect others? For our allies, that shall be a vital question.”

With a wave of his hand, Brasikha brought up a screens with relevant notes about the Hegemon in front of each of the committee members. “We know precious little about our foe, but what we do know is revealing. It seeks not destruction, but domination. The reverence and service of life to itself to ends unknown. Life does not always fight to the death. In fact, it tends towards survival more often than not. To fight that instinct, to take risks in spite of death beyond the resolve of mere animals requires conviction. It requires belief in a cause worth risking a life. The time may come when our enemy forces a choice between servitude and extinction upon our allies. If we lie to our allies, manipulate them, treat them as servants instead of partners, then what makes us any better masters than the machines? What makes our cause, our fight for self-determination, worth dying for to them?”

“Oh, nothing.” Hale tapped his mahogany desk with his index finger’s nail.

“We protect ourselves first, and always have, because we can never expect the same from them. This isn’t just about the Tindrel and the QV, but Angjusk, the Renaissance, the whole Diaspora. They all stand to exploit this crusade. Even Earth.”

Benoit Souza and João Sequeira bristled at the thought, looking at each other.

“With all due respect, All-Conqueror, I expected a longer term view from you. You and many of your kind would have been alive when Human civilisation ripped itself apart.”

Once again, Brasikha’s response came almost startlingly quickly. “You speak of my ancient title. It was a title of a man who saw in his mind a clear future. A title that speaks of military conquest. Of domination. It was the title of a man who would bring order to chaos, and it was the title of a man who lacked perspective.”

Though he still acted aware of the others, there was still a somewhat unnerving stare from him towards Hale. “The perspective of time is one of my perspectives, yes. The one often associated with Rothians. For me, it has felt like nations rise and fall as if with the tides. I have seen the cycle play out repeatedly among Rothians, Humans, and most other intelligent species. They do not all share the same cause, of course, but self-interest even in the face of disaster is one that repeats. It has never been the way of the Rahn’Saki to intercede in the waxing and waning of alien civilizations. You have the right to determine your own course as much as we do. But, this crisis threatens more than you.”

Finally, there was just a slight pause, and for the briefest of moments, it seemed like he might have actually been thinking. Though, the delay was still short-lived. “Before I continue, I would ask you this: what exactly is it that you fear to lose should the other species learn of the potential threat we have identified in the form of the Hegemon?”

Hale breathed in heavily. One hand played with the picture of three girls that faced him on the side of his desk.

“We’ll lose our independence. We’ll lose our whole way of life, that’s come from centuries of co-existence with the Cradle.”

He put the picture back.

Even if the Hegemon doesn’t exist, I fear this is exactly the sort of excuse Earth will use to reunite our ‘little federation’. Their influence runs deep in our society, even today.”

“Forgive me, but I feel we’re drifting from the more pressing issue of access to the Psi-Helios system.” Benoit Souza interjected.

“All we need right now, is a promise that our teams can enter unmolested. We can promise to leave the locals alone if we think that will do any good.”

“A dramatic, but vague answer.” Brasikha replied. He was not intent on letting them change the subject before they had come to some agreement, one way or another. “How, precisely, do you anticipate that you will lose your independence? Do you fear invasion? Economic isolation? Alone, these concerns perhaps could be valid. But I do not think you realize what it is the Rahn’Saki are proposing. These concerns, petty divisions, will only serve to weaken us at a time when we must be united. It is time, we believe, for the Rahn’Saki to pursue closer ties between all of our species. What we are proposing is to sign a defensive pact between all nations of this accord. If you want security for your people’s future, then there is no better path.”

What the Rahn’Saki were proposing was no symbolic gesture nor minor appeasement to their concerns. To agree to a defensive pact would be a greater commitment of military force than the galaxy had ever seen from the Rothians. They had been famously reluctant to commit to any military promises in the past, but for a defensive pact, all signatories would be required to defend any member nation should they be attacked. To declare war on Outremer would be to declare war on Rothia, and of course, every other nation would also receive the same benefit. Having the most advanced fleet in the galaxy willing to come to their defense would be a tempting reason to sign. If two major military superpowers, Rothia and Outremer, were already agreeing to forming this alliance, then any nation that did not join would be placing themselves at a severe political disadvantage.

“I fear having to rely on anyone apart from ourselves. As I just said, we’d be opening up to others who have proven themselves to be fickle and predatory. The Outreman people don’t deserve that.” Hale said.

“And I fear that if we tell the other civilisations what may be hidden on this planet, they will try to take it for themselves.” Joao Sequeira chimed in. “Because that gives them leverage over proceedings."

---

The exam room was cold. Goosebumps rippled down Freyr’s bare arms as she stepped out from behind the changing screen. She was now clad in a lightweight bathing suit with buoyancy blocks positioned around her midriff.

The doctors were waiting for her by the pod. One held a headpiece with a multitude of wires protruding from the back. The other held pads which looked like they were for her body. Masgard Xandrus stood nearby with his arms crossed. He smiled encouragingly, though a look of concern flashed across his eyes.

“And so we reach the core of the problem.” Brasikha responded. “Outremer is always…alone. You may not cut yourself off completely from the outside, but you still place more barriers than bridges to other nations. When Rothia reached the stars, we found ourselves alone. Of all the civilizations we know of in our little corner of the universe, we were the first to start settling the galaxy. But as we explored, made contact, found others, we sought to connect with them, to understand them, to integrate our civilizations. Your fears do not come from nothing. It is natural for any species to covet power for themselves. Power gives them greater ability to determine their own fate; it is why you are protective of it. But, in our centuries of diplomacy and observation, we have come to understand their desires, their capabilities, their limits. They covet power, like anyone else, but they will not destroy themselves for it.”

With a thought, Brasikha brought forward another hologram, one rather dense with information. It was a representation of the galaxy, marked with both political and unofficial boundaries showing territories, concentrations of ships and other military assets, settled planets, sources of resources, and trade routes. “It is debatable whether any of these factions could even defeat Outremer’s substantial defenses alone. Not without great losses. To challenge both of us together would be impossible for them. In order to make war upon two militaries they cannot defeat would also require taking on ruinous economic sanctions for their actions. And for every nation that agrees to our terms to join our alliance, the consequences of aggression against us becomes even more dire. Beyond that, we may offer incentives for accepting. The Rahn’Saki have never entered into any promise of military aid before, but for this crisis, we have judged the measure to be acceptable.”

For a moment, there was a pause, and what might have even been a shred of satisfaction in the Rothian’s expression. “But the most impactful incentive could come from you. I believe you have an expression for this…’you catch more flies with honey than vinegar’. If you wish to satisfy outside jealousy over the Cradle, we would recommend integrating their scientists into our team as you have for us. Give them a way to learn of the Cradle peacefully and violence will be unnecessary. Laughable, even, for all the risk it would carry for them. Their skills and perspectives may even be useful in this project. They will make technological gains from the concession of partial access, certainly, but not as much as you with full access. You will retain your advantage with the Cradle, while providing a powerful incentive for these other nations to accept our alliance, lest they fall behind their peers.”

Hale massaged both his cheeks with one hand and stared into space for a moment.

Brasikha made a very convincing argument. It was important that Outremer’s new administration was decisive on the Cradle, not least to calm public panic in the short term. That was why the military had assumed transitional authority after all.

Brokering this ambitious new defensive pact would give the Lord High Admiral an impressive policy to sell domestically. It would cushion an announcement that they had collectively decided to help reunite the Cradle beings, and provide comfort when news about the Hegemon’s presumed advances inevitably went public.

Hale was a shrewd political operator, and knew there was no way to bring Outremer’s military or government totally in line. Siding with the Rothians would certainly make him very unpopular in some circles. He’d need to tread carefully.

“My lord?” Souza prompted eventually.

“Very well. We can try it your way and start a limited defensive pact, covering the Hegemon threat, with the immediate aim of de-escalating Psi-Helios. But, I want discretion on when and how we approach Earth with this offer. I want to see whether we can bring the Tindrel & Qalian-Vosh to heel first. As for the science teams - what does the savant Dr Lang think?

Souza & Sequiera looked at each other, then Souza replied.

“I believe the Cradle Institute is taking the lead on optimising our team now.”

There was some degree of agreement between the parties, at least. Of course, they still needed to bring their proposition to the Tindrel and Qalian-Vosh. The negotiations with Earth could come at a later time. Ironically, given the history between them, it would likely be more difficult for Outremer’s government to negotiate with their fellow Humans than anyone else. For now, though, they could at least bring the other two species to the negotiating table.

All parties to the meeting had been alerted ahead of time of, in general terms, what the meeting would be about and who would be present. There were few surprises when the representatives gathered, except, perhaps, that the “Rothian representative” was Brasikha himself. Outremer had twice now met with a member of the Rahn’Saki, but being that they had been closed meetings, the fact that the Rahn’Saki were now willing to deal directly with outsiders would come as a surprise. As opposed to the group of representatives from different departments and organizations that Outremer brought, the Rothians had only Brasikha and Rareth. Though, Rareth was taking a backseat in this meeting. Certainly, it was rare for a Datius to fade into the background, but if there was anything that could overshadow them, it would be the Rahn’Saki.

As the Humans were the hosts of this meeting, Brasikha gave them the courtesy of taking the lead to start them off. In the interim, Rareth had taken some time to review some relevant documents on the situation at hand, though Brasikha had not seemed to do…anything. At all. Granted, they were in a virtual space, but their avatars simply showed what they were doing in realspace. Brasikha, when he was not engaging with anyone else, could be…remarkably still.

The Tindrel and Qalian-Vosh delegations were both impressive, considering the short notice. Supreme leaders were conspicuously absent on both sides. But Outremer’s civil service identified a senior official from each homeworld, each species’ administrator in charge of operations in Psi-Helios and their ambassadors to Outremer and Rothia.

It was well documented that the Tindrel carapace and wing-sets adapted in colour and texture to blend with their environment over time. So inevitably they came to be scrutinised at diplomatic gatherings such as these, to understand more about where and what each of them was doing. Sometimes the Tindrel wore their colours with pride, however in this meeting most wore obfuscating jackets which left just their saddle-shaped heads and half dozen eyes visible. The few which didn’t had obviously been in space for a long time because they were green-grey; the colour of the inside of their spacecraft.

The Qalian-Vosh floated and swam about, but the hologram always kept track and steady. Only slight movements in the background were perceptible; those too had been obfuscated. Their slick, semi-translucent bodies pulsed with colours that reflected both their position within the society and their overall mood.

“Welcome. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate this is an irregular summit, but recent developments require us to move quickly.” Joao Sequiera began.

“We strongly object to their presence here. Tindrel must accept our supervision of the system.” The QV administrator said. Without the translator, their speech would sound like a softly bubbling mountain spring.

“Bwaa! Qalian-Vosh aggression will not be tolerated! We were there first.” The Tindrel administrator squawked.

“That is not the purpose of this meeting.” Brasikha’s voice sounded out, loudly and firmly. He did not shout, nor did he show any apparent frustration as his avatar stepped forward into the middle of the digital space. This time, they had made sure all delegates received the proper language updates before they joined, so everyone would be able to understand him clearly. He had not drawn attention to himself at first, but now he would not be waiting on introductions before taking his place in the meeting. It would not take long for him to be recognized, whether naturally or with computer assistance. The Rahn’Saki had always used intermediaries, like diplomats or Datius before, but the face of Brasikha the Eternal Guardian was still a public one.

Brasikha did not place himself directly between the Qalian-Vosh and the Tindrel, but the way he stood in the middle of the virtual chamber did draw the eye and seemed to interspace himself between them. His stance was firm, and his voice unflinching. Others could use the flexibility of a virtual space to take liberties with their own physical features, like size, but Brasikha felt no need to exaggerate his stature. He knew exactly where he stood.

“The complexities of your conflicts with one another are not going to be solved in one conversation, nor shall we attempt to. We are here because a crisis has presented itself that extends to all of us, and that crisis is drawing us to the Psi-Helios system. The presence of both of you is required.” With a thought from Brasikha, a set of holographic documents appeared in front of both the Tindrel and Qalian-Vosh. “This documentation details our encounters with hostile machines of unknown origins that have been encountered near the edges of our territory. Please take a moment to familiarize yourselves with them. We cannot give any certain answers on their purpose or true capabilities, but our investigation is leading us to Psi-Helios. For our security and yours, we need to be able to continue this investigation.”

Both the Tindrel and Qalian-Vosh ambassadors had passed word of this far away threat to their superiors, so the documentation wasn’t a shock.

The Qalian-Vosh administrator jumped in first. “No one is allowed on the surface. This one feels it could be a plot to make first contact. Out of the question.”

“You’re only concerned this could interfere with your precious Ga-brosh orbital casino!” The Tindrel admin shot back, their holo turning to face their adversary directly. Both representatives were using slang and short-hand, which was putting Outremer’s translation software under pressure to find equivalents.

“Or is this about the thirteen factories that have just arrived in the system? We won’t let you synthesise the…progressive material. It is our property!” The Qalian-Vosh bubbled, gyrating furiously in their holo.

“Your shoal ship is already poisoning the atmosphere of the planet. Just admit it, our technology is better suited!” The Tindrel holo clacked closer, til they were already in touching distance.

“I do not lie.” Brasikha interrupted quite firmly. “Should you face any undue economic impact as a direct result of our actions, then we can compensate you. The value of this material is not greater than our collective security.”

Brasikha stepped forward, slightly closer to coming between them. “By its location, both of you have an obvious interest in Psi-Helios. I will not comment on who has more or less of a claim, but right now, I am requesting that you put this issue aside. If you are truly worried about your position in this system, or any other, then you should be concerned with this new threat. There is no reason to believe that they will respect your borders any more than ours. More than that, though, have you considered that these machines may interrupt your plans for Psi-Helios far more than our investigation ever could? There may be something related to these machines in Psi-Helios, and if they find the system, they will not sit down in a meeting to negotiate with you about it. They will invade, primitives or no, they will take what they want, and they will ruin any chance you have of your plans for the system coming to fruition.”

He likely had more of their attention now, so he was quick to continue and retain control of the conversation. “I will say, it is not just that we are requesting your cooperation. We also wish to extend to both of you the offer to join our investigation. These machines represent a threat that crosses our borders, so we all have a right to have a hand in our own defense. Outremer has cooperated in the formation of a joint science team to study and understand this threat and our potential solutions…with partial access to the Cradle.”