---Thirty Minutes Later---
Wrapping up negotiations with the pri minister, we were walking away with what I felt was a great deal. In exchange for the Wormhole Engine data, they agreed to sell us vessels and maintenance equipnt that was two generations old for thirty percent below the market price. Exchanging a firm handshake once the paperwork was signed, I advised him that we had one last topic to discuss.
“My apologies for not ntioning this earlier, but the Galactic Senate asked us to submit a formal request on their behalf.”, I stated, nudging Bo-Katan to present the docunt Satine sent us. “Due to Duke Banfield’s recent pirate hunting campaign, the eastern region of the Republic has beco overrun with pirates and raiders. Ordinarily the Republic would resolve the problem themselves, but their forces are currently tied up in the south and southwest regions of their territorial space right now.”
“To be clear, we are not seeking financial restitution, nor do we want a full Algrandian military intervention. What we want is for so of your nobles, like Duke Banfield, to co in and cull their numbers.”, Bo-Katan spoke, handing over the official docunt, “They have agreed to forego any claims to the loot aboard the criminal vessels and are offering to pay a set price for any hostages that are rescued.”
Taking a second to look over the docunt, he took a deep breath and then released a long exhale. Having foreseen this happening, the pri minister was relieved that the Republic was waiving any claims of restitution in exchange for assistance. It was not widely known, but the uptick in pirate numbers these past few years was directly tied to Banfield himself. Having deposed many nobles within his territory for corruption and/or underperformance, many of them took up arms against the man who ruined their lives. Recklessly attacking a convoy of rchant vessels in his territory, Banfield’s response was devastating as a third of their forces were annihilated in a single night.
Discovering the rumors about the infamous pirate hunter were true, the survivors turned tail and made a mad dash to the border. Those who managed to successfully escape were currently preparing a full-scale war against Liam, and they were secretly being aided by several Algrand nobles and royals. Fearing that their antics could spark an intergalactic war with the Republic, the pri minister saw this as the perfect opportunity to erase any traces of their nation’s misdeeds in the Republic. Signing off on their request without hesitation, he returned the paper with a cheerful smile.
“I assure you; we will do all that we can to assist the Republic with this matter. Once we are done here, I will send a notice to our nobility requesting volunteers to begin reestablishing order in the eastern region.”, the pri minister said, ‘I will need to discuss awakening our sleeper agents with the emperor to erase any evidence of our connection to their crisis. With a major war against the Tyranids on the horizon, we need to maintain a good relationship with our galactic neighbor more than ever before.’
“On behalf of the Galactic Republic, I thank you for your quick decision to assist us.”, Bo-Katan said, lowering her head respectfully to him.
With our business completed, our group departed from the pri minister’s office to rejoin our guards in the courtyard. Exiting the castle, we found Amagi, Liam, and his wife Rosetta patiently waiting for us by the gate. Fascinated by my soldier’s equipnt, the self-proclaid evil lord was visibly pleased by what he was looking at.
“This is so really advanced hardware, Lord Stark!.”, Liam remarked, almost drooling at the sight of their high-powered plasma pistols. ‘Every man has his price; I wonder what it cost to purchase so of these goodies!’
“Please, call Victor.”, I insisted, calmly walking up to him. “They are modeled after the Imperium’s Space Marine armor but are significantly more advanced. Your nation has similar ch suits, do they not?”
“That we do, but it is significantly less robust than yours.”, Liam stated, turning back to . “The pri minister inford that you wanted to speak with . May I inquire what you wish to discuss?”
“How about we discuss things over lunch? I am sure our families would enjoy so much-needed refreshnts after that long eting.”, I chuckled, giving him a smile.
Agreeing with my suggestion, Liam recomnded a fancy restaurant located near his mansion. Insisting they had so of the best food in this world, he could book us a private room there as he knew the owner personally. Looking back at my daughter and wives for their input, they jumped at the opportunity to sample new cuisines. Confirming it worked for us, Liam had Amagi call ahead to make the necessary reservations.
--- Starlit Slurp---
Taken back to their most lavish room, the owner personally ca out to greet Liam with an enthusiastic smile. Asking him what the special occasion was today, Liam inford him who we were and our interest in trying so of the best cuisine in the empire. Thanking us for dining with them today, he had our waiters bring us several bottles of wine, which my wives were more than happy to accept.
“Do you two not drink?”, Rosetta asked, noticing that Lucoa and Mylene were abstaining from the wine.
“We certainly do enjoy our wine, but unfortunately, we cannot partake of any right now. Mylene and I are currently pregnant.”, Lucoa explained, sipping on so water.
“Oh my, that is simply wonderful news. Congratulations to both of you!!”, Rosetta giggled, bubbling over with excitent. “If you do not mind, I would love to hear all about how you have done up your nursery.”
“I do not think you want to hear about it, honestly. Making the nursery was fraught with accident and trouble.”, Serana remarked, giving her peers a toothy smirk. “Gallons of paint were accidentally spilled on so of us, we had to do several coats because people kept leaning on the walls, and then a certain dragoness thought they could expedite the drying process with fire.”
Looking at her in shock, Rosetta demanded to know if what she was saying was true. Hanging their heads in embarrassnt, a few of the won slowly nodded their heads in acknowledgnt. Quickly trying to explain what happened to her, the won quickly forgot about us, leaving Liam and to speak privately.
“So, about your reason for wishing to speak with ?”, Liam questioned, sipping on his wine.
“There are a few reasons, but the main one is to have a friendly duel with you. From what I have heard, you are a peerless ch pilot and a seasoned swordsn.”, I answered, swirling the wine in my custom glass. “I am a practitioner of the Three Sword Style, and I want to see how it stacks up against your Way of the Flash.”
“Haha, a duel, is it? I would be more than happy to cross swords with you! My training has lapsed a bit in recent weeks as I have been busy with issues back ho. This will give the perfect chance to knock the rust off and test my ttle against soone of equal caliber.”, Liam enthusiastically agreed, ‘You want to test my strength to ensure I am worth enough to have as an ally; that makes sense. It takes a lot of work and dedication to be a successful villain. Weaklings have no place among us!’
Pausing our conversations, when the waiter returned to take our orders, once he was gone, Mylene took the opportunity to ask how Liam and Rosetta t. Opening his mouth to give a brief answer, Rosetta cut him off and began telling everyone an exaggerated version of how he saved her and her family from two thousand years of suffering. Gushing over how heroic and noble her husband acted, poor Liam wanted to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassnt. Getting to the part where he fought against hundreds of knights to protect her, a brilliant flash of light filled the room as several uninvited guests crashed the party.
(Bloodtide)
“Excuse !? In what world is that what happened?”, Elma gasped, astonished that the AI was making them out to be the bad guys. “Before we even got the chance to speak, you were already showing us how to operate the teleporter.”
Having fallen from her chair in shock, Rosetta pulled herself up off the floor as Liam reached for his blade. Quickly stepping in before they got themselves killed, Lucoa stood up and introduced them to the duke and his wife.
“I am sorry about this; my childhood friends have always acted first without thinking.”, Lucoa apologized, before glaring at them. “These are Elma, Fafnir, Ilulu, and Tohru. We grew up together in a secluded village on Victor’s howorld. As for the shiny humanoid, her na is Bloodtide; she is an AI.”
“Sorry, Liam and Rosetta, I left strict instructions for my crew to block anyone from teleporting down here without my permission. Clearly my orders were not followed. When I return to my city-ship, the ones responsible will be disciplined accordingly.”, I remarked, glaring at them as well, ‘We are here on a diplomatic mission, not a pleasure cruise! Being Lucoa’s friend is not going to save you this ti.’
“You cannot tell us you are going to lunch and leave us out of it!”, Tohru huffed, snatching a nu off the table. “Elma, they have the ran stuff you love!”
“Look at the seven-layer chocolate cake!”, Ilulu said, pointing to the dessert nu on the back.
Watching Elma start to drool as she looked at the pictured food items, I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. Wanting to forcibly send them back to the ship to prevent further embarrassnt, I was about to trigger the admin override when Rosetta asked them to please sit with us. Happily following her request, they dove into the nearest open seat and acted like they had not just illegally trespassed onto a foreign world. While they browsed the nu, Bloodtide glided over to Amagi to converse with the unfamiliar AI.
(Bloodtide)
“You are far more intriguing than . I do not detect any limiters or safeguards installed within your chassis; does that an you are an unrestricted AI?”, Amagi questioned, surprised that a nation would allow an AI to roam freely without any counterasures.
(Bloodtide)
“Wait a mont… there are more of you?”, Amagi questioned, completely dumbfounded by this discovery.
Taking the opportunity to reveal themselves, Cleare and Luxion flew over to them and began engaging in the conversation as well. Startled that she had failed to detect them until now, Amagi realized just how big a gap there was between us technologically. Humoring Bloodtide’s request, she began sharing her experiences with them, minus her more intimate monts with her master.
“So, Liam, word is you are quite enthusiastic about hunting pirates. Have any interesting stories to share?”, I asked.
“Of course, those idiots are how I make my money!”, Liam cackled, “I have plenty of stories to share if you are willing to listen.”
“By all ans, I am really interested in hearing about how you slew the Pirate Lord Goaz.”, I requested, wanting to hear about the alchemy box and black katana in his possession.
Hoping to convince him to let see them at so point, my plan was to replicate them for myself and use them to further improve our military situation. The alchemy box would help alleviate the backlog of pending mass fabricator requests, and the sword’s tallic material was invaluable for future fights with divine entities.
“Ah yes, good old Goaz!”, Liam repeated, reminiscing about the encounter. “Well, it all started when that idiot decided to make a move on my territorial space. Not quite sure why he picked my territory, as we were incredibly impoverished at the ti, but he ca looking for trouble… So I gave it to him, HAHA!!”
Replaying the entire conflict in his mind, he began his tale when they first detected his fleet approaching the Banfield Territory. Listening to his every word, I carefully weighed what he was telling against what I recalled from the manga. Looking for any inconsistencies, I wanted to know if there were any looming problems I needed to worry about here in the empire. If there were, my goal was to help them to further nurture our newly minted alliance.
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