Chapter 381 381 Travel Time Needs Improvement
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
After their deal with the vampires was finished, Terminus made its way toward the border through the newly quarantined sector, making a point to note and not respond to any messages that were the least bit suspicious or that came from a planet whose data traffic didn't seem to match the situation on the surface.
Calculating this way and sending the vaccine probes to every inhabited planet that they passed slowed them by a significant amount, and it took them almost a week to get clear of the region where the virus could possibly have spread to.
The sector that they were passing through now hadn't suffered any unrest of either the Zombie or the Rebel sort.
"So, how are the data feeds on the planets that we vaccinated?" An Illithid doctor asked Max as they passed a Binary star system, whose mismatched stars made the most amazing cat-eye effect when viewed from a certain angle.
"There are no reports of mass side effects, but there have been some uprisings as the vaccinated regained their mental faculties. That was within our expectations, and it has done an impressive job of disrupting the attempts to mind control the sector." Max replied, passing him a tablet with the ship's collected data on the subject.
"Good, good. I am always glad to see a plan come to fruition. How much longer until our next stop? The passing planets are interesting, but the human settlements in this region are very similar, with all of them focusing on basic self-sufficiency and not a unique contribution to the collective."
That described the majority of Kepler's planets. They just kind of got by and sent a Regiment every few years as a tribute. It was rare that you came across one that specialized in something that wasn't abundant in the region, thanks to the uniformity of the Kepler Expedition's terraforming efforts.
"Tomorrow, we will reach the border region where we have some business to take care of, and then we can pass into Cygnus space. They have a slightly different culture than we do, and they were settled by an entirely different wave of human expansion, so there should be enough differences to keep things interesting for a few days.
We have also identified another stop for a week after we leave this location. They produce unique crystal structures through sonic manipulation. The technology is exclusive to their planet, so it shouldn't be anything that the passengers have seen before." Max explained.
That cheered the doctor up. New things and new knowledge were what the Illithid lived for.
The Innu mostly only had two weeks left on the ship before they were scheduled to return home from their month-long voyage, so it would make for a pleasant endcap to their trip after weeks of viewing planets and playing in the gravity slides.
With all his visitors taken care of, Max went down to the Hangars, where Nico was supposed to be working on a new shuttle design to carry passengers on their away missions.
They had been at it for a week, tweaking and modifying the design to be safe enough for orbital entry at combat velocities while having suitable viewing angles for passengers to look out and enjoy their trip. A single-purpose vessel was far from up to Nico's standards, so she was putting a lot of effort into this design, making sure that it was suitable for defense if they should meet a hostile indigenous species and maneuverable enough to evade capture by any known human vessel.
The ship seemed to be ready when he arrived, painted bone white, with red markings identifying it as belonging to the Terminus Trading Company.
Max could pick out six Laser Projectors mounted in the wings, as well as a retractable top turret that seemed to be an Ion Cannon. Not heavily armed for a Mecha conflict, but enough to deal with large flying predators in a feral world.
"Good timing. It's all ready. Climb in and tell me what you think. The seats are adjustable, and we can remove one row and shift the others if there isn't enough legroom. In the current design, it carries twenty-four passengers and two crew members, but with the seats shifted, that would be twenty. Plus, the crew.
As you can see, the visibility is a little over two hundred degrees, with only the centers of the floor and ceiling being opaque. The structural beams shouldn't interfere much with the views on the side, so I think we've fulfilled the design requirements." Nico informed him.
Max entered and realized right away that not everyone would be cool with this design. The windows extended below the outer seats, letting you look straight down as if your seat was suspended in midair. There was an adjustment to block the views out of the window, though, turning them black and opaque, so that would help a little with vertigo that Max assumed most people would suffer in this vessel.
"It's not bad, but those outer seats are going to freak a lot of people out," Max called to her as he took a seat, looking out the windows at the hangar bay.
"That's part of the appeal. Humans are already known as extreme and barbaric, so having a tour of the planet that feels like you are floating in your chair is exactly the sort of extreme but completely safe adventure that we can market to the Alliance tourists." She disagreed.
That wasn't completely incorrect, but Max's attention was drawn by a storage rack in the back of the ship, along with a secondary door that appeared to exit straight out the back. Completely impractical except as an emergency exit was his first thought, but then he realized that Nico had designed this, so there was certainly a reason.
A quick inspection of the rack showed that it held two dozen Archangel Exoskeletons, modified so that the wings were smaller and only contained cameras, not an array of weapons. Which meant that the rear door was for para-dropping. In the suits, with their force fields and gravity control, you could jump out of the ship while it was in motion to explore an arena, then fly back to the departure point or an arranged meeting location.
It would also be incredible for dropping special forces teams into nasty situations since the drone used the same Crystalline drives as their warp engines and didn't give off a huge energy or radar signature for enemies to track like a traditional Kepler dropship or Lander would.
"You know what, I think I like this thing. Make a few more of them tonight, but be sure that you are ready to go when we arrive in the morning. I don't know what idiocy we will be facing, but it is likely to include pompous Cygnus Nobles constantly preening, so we need to show them our very best." Max instructed her, then climbed out of their new shuttle to head back to his room.
Chapter 382 382 Are You Everywhere?
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
[Colony Ship Terminus, please maintain a safe distance of two thousand kilometers from the station while staying no less than two hundred kilometers from the other ships in orbit and send a shuttle of under one hundred meters in length with your representatives.] The control room of the station where they were supposed to be meeting the Rebel and Cygnus leaders for their meeting announced after Admiral Drake hailed them.
There were three Cygnus Cutters and a Destroyer, two President Class Kepler transports, and three more Destroyers of Factions that Max wasn't immediately familiar with.
[Understood, Station Control. Prepare for an incoming shuttle.] Max replied.
He looked over at his team, twenty specifically chosen Pilots from among the Corvette Class units of the First Battalion, all equipped with Archangel Exoskeletons under their Reaver garb. They would put the forcefields up the moment that they arrived at the station and remain behind Max and Nico as their retinue.
If the station had a problem with the Reavers carrying weapons, this could become an issue, but Max was hoping that nobody would say anything, at least not here on this frontier station, which was already hosting multiple factions, going by the large vessels they had seen on the way in.
They all took their seats in the new shuttle, with Nico guiding it out of the bay using the Tech Adept Harness that she felt complimented her look the best, and made their way to the station at a sedate one-quarter of the suborbital cruising speed limit.
That should give their hosts plenty of time to get a good look at their new shuttle, whose windows were now opaque, hiding the occupants from casual inspection, while Nico kept a jamming signal up to prevent them from being scanned.
It would annoy the Rebels to no end, Max was certain, but the Cygnus officers were familiar with the practice, as it was how they arrived when they were sending a ranking Noble.
Everything about their approach had been carefully calculated to make them seem more impressive than they were, bolstering the image of the Reavers as an emerging power with unique new technologies that the other Nations should have at least heard rumors of by now, even if they hadn't found any solid footage to confirm it yet.
As they passed through the barrier around the cargo bay, Max saw their power usage spike as Nico normalized the hull temperature of the shuttle without waiting for the systems of the Station to do it for her, one more small power play that let them disembark as soon as the shuttle was stable and powered down, before the reception team could get properly in place.
The retinue formed up into two ranks, making an aisle for their Commanders to exit the shuttle, then fell in behind them as the Station's representatives came into the bay to meet them.
"Your technology is surprisingly effective. Pardon our delay. As you are the last to arrive, having been summoned after the meetings were already underway, please follow me to the reception hall where the others are waiting for you." The man in the plain gray uniform of an outpost station welcomed them.
"Kind words for our technicians' skills are always welcome. You may tell them that Commander Keres and Tarith Rage of the Terminus Trading Company will meet them personally." Nico told the base officers.
"Certainly, Madam. This way, please. All weapons are to be out of sight during the meeting or placed in the care of the staff if that is not possible. The tensions have been somewhat high this past week with so many factions present. I hope you understand."
"Entirely reasonable. All of our weapons are out of sight." Nico agreed with a smile that made the man shudder a little.
They followed the staff through the hallways to a large convention hall, where Max could sense hundreds of thoughts ongoing inside, negotiating a trade deal between Cygnus and a small nation to the East of them, on the far side of their nation from here.
That was unusual. Normally nations were only concerned with their immediate neighbors, and Kepler was many light years and multiple small nations away from their borders.
"Commander Keres and Tarith Rage of the Terminus Trading Company, representing the Reaver Faction." The staff announced them at the door, drawing every eye in the room to their location.
There were some welcomes and some grumbling about the apparent youth of the representatives, but after a few seconds, the crowd settled, and the leader of the meeting, a Rebel Kepler Duke, came forward to speak to them.
"Might either of you hold Noble Titles, or should we refer to you both by your bare names?" He asked haughtily.
From behind him, a familiar voice chuckled. "You may call him Sir Keres Max, and that is the Imperial Lady Tarith Nico."
That voice couldn't be anyone but Lord General Kirkland of Cygnus and his introduction had caused a panic in the room. The two of them were considered war criminals by the Rebel faction, and their presence here representing the Reavers was enough to make many think that they had been tricked.
"Lord General, you do appear in the strangest places, don't you? I hadn't expected to see you again after our abrupt departure from the service of the Kepler Fleet, but it is pleasant to see a familiar and dignified face, even if we are surrounded by cowards and traitors." Nico greeted him.
Max resisted the urge to smack her in the back of the head, knowing that she had a forcefield up, and resigned himself only to sigh.
The Rebel Duke looked incredibly offended and was about to speak when Nico turned to speak to him.
"Certainly not your dignified self. Duke, whoever you are. Rest assured, we are here on behalf of the Reavers and only the Reavers." Nico told him.
"You still have a way with words, Lady Tarith. I understand that you are bulletproof, but not all of us enjoy that luxury, so I would politely ask that you not touch off another gunfight inside the meeting hall." Lord General Kirkland requested.
"I will keep it in mind. Now, what were we called all the way across the Kepler Kingdom to talk about?"
Chapter 383 383 Opportunists
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
"The reason that the Reavers have been called to a meeting between nations is a simple one. We foresee the collapse of the Kepler Empire, and we all want a part of the spoils. There is a plan already in place that will spell the doom of the Empire, and we will need goods moved when things are unstable.
As much as it pains me to say it, there isn't a force in this region of the Galaxy that is actually capable of that except the Reavers. Their impartial reputation, before recent regrettable events in the Terminus Sector involving the Tapani, means that everyone here has dealings with them and is willing to accept them as trade partners during the inevitable chaos as we divide the spoils." The Rebel Duke informed the Reaver representatives.
Nico nodded slowly before answering. "So, an understanding that the rest of the Rebel movement does not align themselves with the group that sent the Tapani after us and trade through Kepler space, even if it changes hands? I think that is something that we can work out."
"Aren't you a bit too proud for the representative of a lowly trade faction?" One of the foreign dignitaries asked.
"Crown Prince of Califa Seven, are you not a bit too arrogant? Our Colony Ship has more Super Heavy Mecha than your planet." Nico retorted.
That was a fact that everyone had at least heard, though most hadn't believed the rumors of dozens of Super Heavy Mecha in an unknown design in the hands of the Reavers at Rae 5. The results of the battle were clear, but the method of victory was still a matter of much debate among every other faction.
This was why Max hated politics, all of the nonsense and posturing, while nothing at all got done. Nico was a natural at it, though her methods always seemed to end in violence. Even with that unfortunate side effect, it was still better to let her take the lead most of the time so that Max didn't have to suffer the annoyance of dealing with politicians himself.
"That's enough, you two. Can we stay on track for at least two minutes at a time?" Lord General Kirkland asked.
"You seem to favor the little Reaver girl. Have you two perhaps met before?" One of the foreigners asked.
The Cygnus group shared a grim look, but the Lord General answered honestly. "Before they left the service of the Kepler Military, the two representatives of the Reaver Nation met me in battle. They had the good fortune to come out on the winning side of the engagement, and the resulting agreement is what led to the Cygnus forces withdrawing support for the Rebels."
"So full of nobility and honor. Bunch of nonsense if you ask me." The foreigner, who Max identified as a Duke of the Califa delegation, sighed.
"Let's move forward. Come, take a seat and let's get to the actual business." A rebel Duke declared, pulling the attention of the crow back to the large ring of tables that dominated the room.
Nico used a mechanical dendrite to pull out Max's chair for him, then sat beside him, subtly indicating that he was the one in charge, though she was the one speaking on his behalf.
"Good. Now, we can't share the details for fear of leaks, but within the next six weeks, there will be an incident that will destabilize the situation in Kepler. Once that happens, we ask that all those who are vying for a slice of the corpse send their troops in and take over the region they have been designated as rapidly as possible, in whatever manner suits you best." The Rebel leader informed the room.
Max could see that there were already divisions drawn on the holographic map in the middle of the circle of tables, so he motioned for Nico to record them for future reference.
"I won't question your methods or timetable, but are you absolutely certain that it will cause a significant enough disruption to break the chain of command and not just lead to a military coup that would see the fleet crack down viciously on anyone looking to cause trouble?" Nico asked.
"The others asked the same at first. But yes, our plans include dealing with the organization of the Fleet. With them just as disorganized as the rest of the Empire, our allies will be able to move in with only the local defense fleets to be concerned with, and we are already moving as many of those out of their home regions as we can.
There is a Narsian invasion on the North side of the Empire, and we have fed a large amount of misinformation about it to the fleet and Central Command, leading them to send the majority of their available forces. By the time they realize what is happening, it will be too late to recall them, and they will be left to defend whatever they can.
That is why there is no assignment for that northern region of space. Most of the fleet will be there, and they will naturally attempt to stabilize the region that they are in, then wait for orders that will never come as the Empire falls."
His idea made sense. It might not work, but it at least had some semblance of logic behind it.
Max was about to open his mouth to point out that the distribution of forces that they had indicated on the map would leave their homes vulnerable to each other and to the forces that weren't here in this room, but Nico pinched his side with a mechanical arm, silencing him.
It wouldn't do any good to point that out at this time, and he would only be seen as a troublemaker trying to sow division in this makeshift alliance. They would have to learn for themselves the danger that they were putting themselves in by moving so much of their military out of their home region.
"So what you want is for us to set up a trade network to make up for the regular shipments that won't be moving during the unrest? I don't see that being an issue. It might deprive some of the outlying regions of their regular trade missions, cutting frequency to half what it is now, but we can at least keep basic trade functions available." Nico agreed, posting some basic data on publicly known regular trade Routes for Reaver Companies to the map, overlaying their existing battle plans.
The only one who had noticed that they were holding something back was Lord General Kirkland of Cygnus, who had dealt with Max and Nico before. Max could sense in his thoughts that he was calculating the trade routes looking for whatever he missed.
The light in his eyes when he realized that it wasn't about trade, but about the points that they would be trading to almost made Max break character to wink at the quick-witted Noble.
Of all the nations here, the only one that could sustain their commitment and have a good chance at remaining stable was Cygnus, and even that would stretch their more stable inner regions fairly thin.
Chapter 384 384 Cygnus Knows
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
"Looking at the map this way, I have come to a realization. The current requests would draw our supply lines extremely thin. Perhaps I have been too greedy in early negotiations." Lord General Kirkland sighed, pointing to the map.
If this plan worked, Cygnus was set to absorb an enormous portion of the former Kepler Territory, starting at their border. Like Cygnus, they had taken heavy casualties in the past few years, so it wasn't going to be the most straightforward deployment for them, but the gains were undoubtedly worth it, looking at the resources that they were standing to gain, especially if they could peacefully transition a number of the more important manufacturing planets.
"What are you saying, Lord General?" A representative of the Tapani asked.
"I believe that Cygnus will be willing to accept a smaller portion of the spoils in exchange for our assistance if the Nations that initially wanted the regions at the edges of our new territory are capable of taking them as well as what they currently planned." The General informed the room.
Many of the representatives looked dubious at his motivations, but one of the smaller fleets, whose home territory was only four star systems, highlighted a lightly inhabited farm world.
"This would be within our capability. It isn't much, but it would save you from wasting an entire compliance fleet to take care of it." The man suggested.
"Cygnus has plenty of new farm worlds in our core territory expansion. I don't see any harm in granting you that request." Kirkland agreed.
The devious smiles spread through the room while the Lord General silently celebrated in his mind.
Unlike most of the people in this room, Cygnus didn't actually need any of the new territories in order to help their people. It would be a gain on paper only, as they gained territory but retained the balance of resource distribution within the Empire.
Max suspected that it was mostly lingering enmity that had brought them here in the first place, especially after Kirkland ordered his adjutant and their team to continue making deals.
That went on for three hours while Nico and Max sat silently, watching the show.
None of this changed their role in the overall plan, as someone would still need supplies for all of those planetary regions.
The Lord General updated the map with every deal, and while every deal was small, Max noticed that by the end of it, Cygnus had given up nearly half of their planned expansion, as well as all but four of the heavily defended systems, a level of conflict that was a day to day normal for them when they were at war with Kepler.
This expansion would cost them nothing but the casualties on their attacking force, and it wouldn't stretch their resources on the home front, especially with so many nations with whom they shared a very tense relationship focused on Kepler.
For Cygnus, there was no loss now that they had reduced the greed of their plans. They could hold the home front, and even if the plan failed, they would just retreat to their borders while their neighbors lost so much that they would be unable to defend themselves.
Like Nico, he had grasped the bigger picture in moments, thinking not only about the alliance forces but those further out and how they would react to the change in defenses among their neighbors as they went on the attack.
The fact that nobody else had noticed was almost painful to Max, whose sense of righteousness couldn't stand to see so many nations committing virtual suicide. But it was their choice, and there was the chance that they could do with alliances and hidden assets what Max didn't expect them to be capable of.
There really wasn't much for Max to do since he had easily agreed to let the Reavers continue their trading activities in the affected regions. There would have to be an agreement with the Rebels and Tapani, as well as all of the other nations who wanted a part of Kepler space, but that could be written up easily enough tonight and dealt with tomorrow.
Max also had a great idea for the agreement, a bit of consequence to betraying it, other than the obvious stoppage of shipments.
These nations weren't friends, they were only temporary allies, so Max was planning to add a clause that if the nations involved betrayed the Reavers, the nations holding neighboring territory would help the Reavers take vengeance, with the territory affected as compensation after the traitors were defeated.
It would be a wonderful mess of a situation and make things even more chaotic, but that might just be enough to keep the Reaver trade vessels safe during a time of unrest when they were often targeted by various fleets whose resources had run low.
Everyone loved getting something for nothing, and robbing a merchant using a military fleet was a very easy thing to do.
Since he didn't have anything to do with the rest of the conversation, Max began drafting the agreement, using a template that was stored in the database of Terminus for situations like this. It was a Kepler agreement, and surely some of the others would recognize it, but he knew that it would be legally solid and that the nations involved would honor it. At least to the point that they thought they needed to.
"Alright, let us break for dinner, and we will return to the meetings tomorrow morning." The leader of the Rebels present at the meeting ordered, raising up from his seat and shaking hands with those nearest to him.
"Lord General Kirkland, would you like to join us aboard Terminus for an evening meal? We have a few things that we should discuss with you in private, apart from the matters of these meetings. We were already headed your way, so this is perfect timing." Max asked the Cygnus Noble.
"Of course. We will follow you on our shuttle. I would love to get a chance to see the inside of your magnificent new vessel. To think, it wasn't long ago that you were playing aboard Comor Station with the Imperial Prince. We have a lot to catch up on." Lord General Kirkland agreed.Chapter 385 385 Cygnus Honor
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
The shuttle holding Lord General Kirkland and his entourage followed right behind Max's shuttle as they entered Terminus, thinking that they would be waiting for the hulls to adjust together.
Being grabbed by the gravity beam and slowly fed through the field as the ship's barrier prepared them for immediate departure from their shuttle was an incredible shock to their pilot, despite being warned by the automated warning that it was about to happen.
"This ship has all sorts of surprises waiting for us, doesn't it?" The general asked as he departed the shuttle, tipping his hat to the staffers who came to collect his luggage but stopping them from collecting his bags from the shuttle.
"Let them take your bags, and you can stay the night in one of the luxury suites in our guest area," Nico suggested, motioning for the staff to continue.
"You even have a guest area set up? You really have put some work in if you think this relic of a ship is ready to host dignitaries." General Kirkland chuckled.
"You have no idea. But here we are at the entrance to the public areas. Welcome to Terminus, the finest adventure cruise ship in the Galaxy." Nico replied with a smile, motioning at the vast expanse of the central gardens and slides that made up the cruise ship areas.
They had private VIP quarters, appointed to the finest of Noble standards, but it was much more amusing to let the Cygnus officers loose in the Cruise Ship section, where they could be interrogated by the Innu, who were already clamoring for details about the new pattern of shuttle that had arrived aboard Terminus.
The documentary crew had discretely set up on a balcony, using telescopic lenses to get the footage that they wanted, and Max waved for them to send someone forward, then sent a thought to the Illithid that they could come to greet the foreign Noble if they wanted.
[That sounds entertaining. They are much like you but somehow very different. Not only in technology but in mind and body as well. Oh, that's it. They don't have any nanotechnology enhancing them. How curious.] The thoughts of the Illithid came all at once and not in a string as humans would put them, but Max was getting used to their concurrent streams of conversation already and didn't have any issues understanding their burst of thought.
"Greetings, I am Jorda of the Innu people. Our home Galaxy is a founding member of the Galactic Alliance, located four point nine seven standard units from here." The first of the Innu to arrive greeted General Kirkland with a polite bow.
"Lord General Kirkland, of Cygnus Prime, homeworld of the Cygnus Nation, seventeen hundred light years from our current location." The General replied politely while Max shook hands with the new arrival.
"The Innu, and in fact their entire multi-galaxy alliance, is a peaceful culture who have moved past planetary scale battles. They have joined us for a tour of the Galaxy and to document human culture in its natural state at this moment in time. We also have representatives of the Illithid people aboard at the moment, though they are a few moments from arrival, as we neglected to warn them of our arrival in advance." Nico explained.
"By Alliance, do you mean THE Alliance, the source of the invincible world ships?" General Kirkland asked.
The newly arrived Illithid gave a snort of amusement but answered on behalf of the guests. "You wouldn't know that they were invincible to your technology if you hadn't shot at them. But yes, that Alliance encompasses both of our species' homeworlds."
General Kirkland blushed a little in embarrassment. "Yes, about that. We are very sorry for the misunderstanding."
The Illithid waved off his concern. "It is no more than we expected. Most primitive cultures shoot at strangers in their territory. The exploration fleet's interactions with you would have been very minimal anyhow, as you haven't made the minimum benchmark for technological advancement that activates our welcoming protocols for newly evolved species."
Max was certain that he had his emotions in check, but Nico's red mechanical eyes were flickering as she failed to contain her amusement.
"You get used to them after a while. The Illithid don't lie, and they rarely sugarcoat anything, so don't take it to heart. The standard that they mean is the ability to travel at Warp 10, which is enough to allow comfortable transit between Galaxies without using Portals or wormholes." Nico explained.
General Kirkland gave her a calculating look, then spoke slowly. "Which means that you have reached Warp 10, and you didn't shoot at them when they arrived. What else have you been hiding from the Galaxy?"
Nico shrugged, but the smirk never left her face. "What if I told you that there are actual flying angels with organic metal bones or that the Reavers have the ability to manufacture Super Heavy Mecha?"
"I think I would find it easier to believe that the angels with metal bones could fly." General Kirkland scoffed in amusement, then went quiet as he realized that she wasn't joking.
"It seems that I have missed a lot of very important developments. No wonder you abandoned the Kepler Empire after they declared you a war criminal."
Max frowned. "Are they still on about that?"
Kirkland's assistant nodded with a sad smile. "Not only are they on about it, enough of Central Command believes it that the status is official and not just an accusation by the Rebels."
That was something that Max didn't know. The question was what particular incident was the one that made them label him and Nico as official criminals.
Kirkland didn't say anything, but he tapped his temple to get Max's attention and thought of the intelligence briefing that Cygnus had held on the topic.
Transport Vessel Abraham Kepler, assumed to have them and General Tennant aboard, had deployed planet killer bombs against a highly populated world, turning the air to acid and then setting the entire atmosphere on fire in a self-perpetuating chemical reaction until the world was barren.
Cygnus couldn't determine the truth of the matter, but it was considered official by Central Command, and the General had been stripped of his rank and position. He would have been stripped of his Mecha as well, but Shining Darkness was already a museum piece sitting on Comor.
"It seems that we really do have a lot to talk about. Please, join us all for dinner. I can assure you it will be worth your time." Max sighed.
If Central Command bought that line of nonsense, then it had already fallen to the Rebels, or at least a segment of it had. Their orders had come from Central Command, to begin with, so they should have known at the very least that he and Nico were no longer aboard Abraham Kepler.
The fact that they had been forgotten meant that there was a good chance someone had scrubbed the Central Command mainframe of their actions, and whoever took over from that person didn't know anything about what had happened.
[Inquisitor General Ming, please join Lord General Kirkland and us for dinner. I think you need to hear what he has to say.] Max requested sending the coordinates for the steakhouse in the Cruise Ship section and making them a reservation at the same time.
Chapter 386 386 Timeline Issues
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
While everyone was getting seated for dinner, General Ming came running in with a data tablet in his hand. He didn't say anything, just stared at Max for a moment and then ran back out, leaving most of the rest of the table in confusion.
"Interesting, so he is with you as well. We had been looking for the inquisitor for months, but as it turns out, he had been sent to infiltrate the Reavers." General Kirkland mused as General Ming left the room.
"Not the most successful attempt ever. We all knew who he was from the start since he was friends with our former Commander. But he doesn't cause problems, and having an inquisitor around when you're plotting a course through troubled areas is a real benefit." Max shrugged.
"That is true, I suppose. Can you tell us what the big message was that he couldn't speak it out loud and had to skip dinner?"
Max considered how much of the message he should tell the Cygnus Noble, knowing what the plan was for the upcoming weeks.
"The Rebels have staged a false surrender ceremony, and it seems that the Emperor is playing into it. He has left the Capital and is headed out to meet them with the Royal Compliance fleet." Max finally decided to explain.
It wouldn't change anything on their end. If he succeeded at whatever he was planning, the Rebels' plan was likely going to go down in flames, but if they succeeded, it was better for Cygnus to have the advance warning because they were the most stable force in the region and it could avoid a lot of unnecessary bloodshed within Kepler.
Max's mind was torn by the situation. He was a Kepler loyalist through and through, but at the moment, Cygnus were allies, even if they were planning to betray that at the first opportunity. The other nations would need to send their fleets a week or more in advance due to the distance, so Cygnus could make out just as well by taking their territory while it was nearly undefended if Kepler defeated the Rebels, and that was a big win for Kepler.
But on the other hand, the information would also prepare the Cygnus fleet to invade.
Not exactly a great option, but in balance, Max thought that it would save the most lives and shorten the chaos.
The Cygnus delegation let it rest at that and simply sent a message to their Commanders to verify the information and update their strategies for the mission should it turn out to be correct.
The primary concern that General Kirkland had was that if the Emperor was moving now, any plan to act against him or the military wasn't going to be able to wait for weeks. When the Emperor took direct action, Central Command was shelved and exchanged for the Emperor's own confidantes, eliminating their chance to corrupt orders and even accomplish the central part of their plan to order the majority of the fleet to the edge of the Empire to deal with the Narsians.
"How about we show you around the ship, and you can take an early night? They expect us all back at the meeting first thing in the morning anyhow." Max suggested.
General Kirkland knew that he would be the only one getting any rest, as the Innu were incredibly eager to speak to his team about the intricacies of Cygnus technology and culture.
"That sounds excellent, but I propose that we arrange another meeting before I go. There is a vacation world much like Comor set on the southeastern edge of Cygnus space. With your Colony ship's speed on its trip here, it would only take a week or two for you to arrive.
If you leave right after the meetings, it might help clear your mind, as well as show your guests a few new things about our lovely and backward Galaxy." Lord General Kirkland suggested.
What his thoughts showed was that the region was as far as possible from the fighting and the territories that were likely to become unstable, as the Nation that bordered that region of Cygnus hadn't signed on to the Rebels' plan.
"Unfortunately, I think we will have to stick around for a little while, we have customers to service before we can head so far out, but I will consider it," Max replied politely, wondering what exactly the best course of action might be.
Max left the guests to their own devices and returned to his office while they explored. Nico was with them, so they could only get into so much trouble, and he had far too much paperwork to do.
[Commander. We have multiple messages for you. Rae 5 reports that the Tapani fleet is using gravity technology to redirect Klem pod waves toward Reaver-friendly worlds, The Death Wind Mercenaries report that an unknown force has attacked near the border of Cygnus, and the Reavers report chaos among the Kepler fleet.
Dozens of ships have changed directions in the last three hours, most headed our way, but many of them are scattering out all through the northern Regions or headed to the galactic core border to deal with the Narsians.]
So much for having two weeks to plan and get things in order. Events were already in motion that couldn't be stopped, and even a warning from Inquisitor General Ming might not change anything at this point.
Max sent him all the details that he had about the plans that the Rebel Alliance had made, but how much good the Inquisitor General could do with it was questionable.
[One more message for you, Commander.] The communications officer informed Max as he glared at his screen.
[What is it?]
[Nico has intercepted foreign signals headed to your location at warp 7. Nationality unknown, all vessels larger than a Kepler Destroyer. Signal patterns and scans indicate that they aren't from the Alliance, and the probes that they have passed indicate that they are most likely heavily armed.]
Max sighed and made up a battle plan, assuming that they were about to come under attack by someone who had seen the same thing Nico had. A large group of vulnerable nations whose emissaries had gathered in one spot.
Chapter 387 387 About The Visitors
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
From what Max could tell, they were the only ones that had noticed the incoming ships, so it was impossible to tell if they were part of one of the delegation's fleets and just in a pattern that wasn't recorded in the Kepler military logs that they had copied into the database aboard Terminus.
If this was just someone's fleet showing up early for the attack, it wasn't going to be a big deal since they should be expecting a large number of attack vessels to come past this point soon, as it was near the edge of both Kepler and Cygnus space, where a lot of the smaller nations would need to cross to get to their target areas.
Max would be able to relax a lot more if he had any sort of way of confirming if the Kepler Emperor had even heard their message and warnings, but the fleet that he was traveling with wasn't sending out any signals at all, observing radio silence the way that Abraham Kepler had been ordered to, and the way that Max was supposed to be doing, if he wasn't acting as a Reaver Commander at the moment.
It was a convenient workaround to their orders, allowing him to keep in contact with the world without outing themselves as a loyalist force.
The Reavers were theoretically neutral, but it was usually in their interest to maintain the status quo, so asking them to go along with this insane mission directly depended on the chances of success. If a small nation looked like they were going to fail, the Reavers who were trading in the area would almost certainly help the loyalists to victory, maintaining their existing business relationships as much as possible.
What Max really wanted to know was what the Rebels thought they could do that would totally destabilize the Empire. Now that the Emperor was acting directly, infiltration of the bureaucracy no longer mattered. He would simply override them and have anyone who he thought was betraying his orders executed for either sedition or incompetence.
The Rebels also didn't have a large enough fleet to take on his compliance force, so a direct battle to wipe them out and weaken the top echelon was improbable, even if they had a secret ally.
The incoming fleet might be exactly that ally, but still, it didn't seem likely that it would be enough of a military force to do anything to stop the Emperor.
[Keres Max, we need to speak of these new vessels. The Illithid know these vessels, and they are not from your galaxy.] A voice in Max's mind informed him.
[What do you know? Are they hostile?] Max asked.
[They are hostile to everyone. For that reason, they were denied membership in the alliance, and their territory marks the border of our allied forces. They live for the hunt and use power-assisted armor similar to your Mecha, but biologically based and not fully mechanical.]
A living Mecha? That sounded both horrific and incredible at the same time.
[What will they want when they arrive? Annihilation or a challenge? Many hunting species wish to challenge the very best first.] Max replied.
[They are a matriarchal society, so they will want to challenge your strongest female to a test of combat first. Their hunting suits are fifteen meters tall, so they are somewhat on par with your own Heavy Mecha, but as far as capabilities, I cannot say.
If the challenge is satisfactory to them, they will attempt to make a deal with your species champion. Usually, they want access to territories with more hunting grounds for them. Either ones where they can fight in their suits or the more extreme ones where they will fight unarmored.] The Illithid informed him.
Were there really that many planets with animal species that could challenge a Heavy mecha? Most of Kepler's territory had been terraformed, so such a thing was all but unheard of. The fact that a species that existed for the challenge of such places was still roaming around the universe meant that, on a larger scale, Kepler was the anomaly.
Maybe they would like to fight the Nemians? The giants would certainly love the challenge of fighting this hunter species. With their technology, they could match up to most heavy Mecha, and though Max didn't know the alien hunter's size, fighting the Nemians without their giant hunting suits, as the Illithid called them, should be an impressive challenge.
[General Kirkland, it seems that the region will be receiving some unexpected guests tomorrow. The delegation from the Reavers will meet with them, as they are known to be rather belligerent on first meetings with new species, so I do hope that you can pass our message on to everyone else.] Max requested.
[Nothing productive will get done at tomorrow's meetings anyhow. I have been instructed by the Imperial Crown Prince to inform them that you have members of the Alliance aboard your vessel and the exact reason why we, as humanity, have been deemed unworthy of their interaction. That will be more than enough to throw a whole week into chaos.] General Kirkland replied.
Finding out that your entire species was deemed too violent and primitive for civilized interaction was going to be hard on them. Especially the nations who considered themselves evolved forms of demihumans, thanks to ancient Genetic Engineering.
One week to get over the shock and start coming to grips with the way The Alliance sees them might be too short of a timeframe.
[Understandable. If they need us to send a representative from the Reavers, let us know. The other fleet should be here in the morning after the meeting has started, and we will move Terminus to intercept so that it doesn't become a huge mess with the gathered nations.] Max informed him, and sent a proposed timeline and movement chart.
A bit of data could go a long ways to helping the Cygnus delegation keep things under control on their behalf after all.
Chapter 388 388 Unleash The Nico
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
"It was a pleasure getting to explore the public areas of Terminus, Commander Keres. I will return to the meetings and inform them about the viewpoint of The Alliance, as so many of them have attempted to gain an audience in the past.
Perhaps some might have a change of mind about their future path, knowing that there is such a large group of peaceful species out there, just waiting for us to be ready to join them." General Kirkland told Max.
Max nodded and gave the General a conspiratorial wink. "I suspect they might have to wait just a little bit longer, but please do record their reactions. I might not be able to attend, but I don't want to miss out on that spectacle."
"Of course. The Imperial Family has made the same request as well." General Kirkland chuckled, then tipped his hat and entered his shuttle, making ready to launch back to the station for the meetings.
As soon as he was clear of Terminus, Admiral Drake sent a message to the assembled fleet, letting them know that Terminus needed to meet some incoming vessels and that they would return as soon as possible to continue their meetings.
That didn't seem to ruffle any feathers. Many delegations had switched their representative in the past weeks, so the Reavers doing the same wasn't an issue. They were far from a decision anyhow, even though they didn't know about the bombshell that General Kirkland was about to drop on them.
[Hunter fleet, this is the Human vessel Terminus, on an approach path to your current course. Please respond.] Nico broadcast to their unexpected guests using the frequency and pattern that the Illithid had provided to them.
[Human woman, this is Huntress Khan. Are you prepared for a duel?] The fleet responded curtly.
[In Mechanized armor of the twenty-meter class, or would you prefer an unarmed duel between champions, so your technology doesn't matter?] Nico asked in a polite tone but with a hint of underlying insult.
[We will duel in Hunter Suits first to see if your species is even worthy of being called a challenge. Send your strongest female to the Arena ship at these coordinates.] The Hunters replied, then cut the link.
"Well, that went better than expected. But maybe you should have introduced yourself directly instead of the ship. Nothing we can do about that now. Admiral, can you make for those coordinates now that their fleet has dropped out of warp?" Max requested.
"On it. We will arrive in ten minutes at warp 5." The Admiral replied grimly.
"Relax a little. I asked the Innu about these duels, and they're not to the death. I have confidence that I can put up enough of a fight that they will at least be impressed by their first taste of humanity. After that, they should be willing to work with us to find hunting grounds since they don't usually hunt sentient species unless they are also up for the challenge." Nico told the Admiral, looking unconcerned behind the non-Newtonian metallic mask that was her face.
No matter how realistic she had made it look, Max couldn't quite bring himself to forget that it was still a state-of-the-art piece of armor and that much more than a gentle caress would turn it solid.
Nico and a small team of volunteers went to the First Battalion's cutter, the smallest vessel that they had which could hold Shattered Pride, her new custom Mecha.
The team was all female, as the Hunters were said to view their females as the warriors of society, while the males were the builders and engineers. It seemed like a good balance to Nico, but Max was more on the side of gender equality. The best person for the job and other such sentiments.
The barrier of the Arena ship lowered, and a video link was sent to Terminus so that everyone could watch Nico and her team arrive and the path that they would take to the Arena.
The distance stopped Max from knowing their thoughts, and they were blocking the Illithid, so Max could only guess at their intentions, but it seemed that they were interested in having everyone know that the duel was conducted with some sort of honor or other protocol.
It had been a long time since either the Illithid or the Innu had been involved in such a thing, so they couldn't say for certain if the protocol had changed, but they hadn't heard of any radical departures from tradition among the hunters.
The Cutter settled gently into the bay, its hull temperature normalized instantly on entry, and the bay doors dropped open.
[On the side of the Humans, their champion Tarith Rage, in the Hunter Suit Shattered Pride.] Max heard over the intercom from the stadium.
Hundreds of thousands of hunters had gathered, all wearing the same golden masks over their faces, with simple togas over sand-colored skin that looked like it might be scaled. The cameras weren't focused on them, so the detail was lacking, and Max had forgotten to ask the Illithid about it earlier.
"Most is just tough hide, but they do have some spikes and protective scales over strategic areas of their bodies." The Illithid closest to him replied to Max's thoughts, then brought up a small hologram in front of him.
They certainly looked vicious, even in a simple toga, standing roughly 250 cm tall, with heavy muscle and those creepy golden masks over their faces. According to the Illithid, the males were much smaller, close to 160 cm, and slender but were much more intelligent. That was why they had split their society into specialist segments.
The four-armed, demonic visage of Shattered Pride stepped clear of the doorway of the Cutter, and Max could hear the entire crowd begin to roar in appreciation of Nico's chosen Mecha. It was larger than their standard hunter suits, suitable for a Champion, in their estimation, and looked very imposing, with its armor designed to mimic a demonic form and horned mask.
[On the side of the Hunters, their champion, and our Commander, Huntress Khan, in the Hunter Suit Dominus.] The announcer declared, and a twenty-meter-tall mecha entered the ring, externally mimicking the biological form of the Hunters, right down to the muscles rippling as it walked.
The two war machines stood on opposite sides of the arena, facing each other in silence as they waited for the announcer to finish the rituals that would begin the fight, and the occupants of Terminus waited to see if they stood a chance of being taken seriously.
Max sighed to himself, annoyed that he missed yet another chance to fight, but the Illithid decided to take this chance to console him.
[If she manages to impress them, there will be plenty of chances to fight. They love bringing those who impress them hunting, and alone, even your mighty Cleansing Light is no match for some of the things that they will team up to fight.]
Max wasn't sure that was actually reassuring, but it did mean that he wouldn't be stuck as a glorified figurehead for much longer, even if the Rebels got smart and picked the peaceful way out.
Chapter 389 389 Monsters In The Arena
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
[As we have never faced a human champion before, the weaponry rules will be relaxed by this match, but all other rules will stand. No cockpit hits, no attempting to kill the champion, and stop when the opposing Hunting Suit is disabled.] The announcer declared, bringing a fresh round of cheering from the audience.
[Normally, they only duel with built-in weapons and melee weapons, no handheld heavy weapons.] The Illithid informed Max.
That was all that Shattered Pride used anyhow, as the Disruptors were built into the forearms, and each hand currently held a blade.
"Agreed," Nico informed the Hunters and gave a slight bow, crossing her upper blades in front of her chest.
"Agreed. Now, hurry along. I want to fight." Huntress Khan told the announcer, eagerness clear in her voice as she face Nico's Mecha.
[In that case. Begin.] The announcer shouted, nearly drowned out by the audience as the two Mecha lurched into motion.
The spear of the Huntress thrust forward with the distinctive crackle of a sonic boom as Nico stalked forward, swaying on her feet and knocking the spear away with an upper blade as her lower arms Disruptors burnt the torso armor of the opposing Mecha.
The crowd cheered the first blow as Huntress Khan disengaged, reassessing Shattered Pride now that she knew those very ordinary-looking protrusions on its forearms were actually very dangerous weapons.
The fact that her Suit hadn't been torn apart or rendered inoperable by the point-blank blast by the Disruptors was a testament to the advanced technology, but Max could see that the waist controls weren't working right, where Nico's attack had damaged the biomechanical muscles.
Nico's blades took three rapid hits from Huntress Khan's own forearm-mounted lasers before the champion growled and took a step back.
[When I learn how you managed to parry my attacks, you will go down to a crushing defeat, human.] The Huntress taunted, annoyed by Nico's ability to block what shouldn't be blocked.
In truth, Nico had just interfaced with her Hunter's Suit and brought up the enemy's targeting data on her own displays so that she would know where the lasers were pointed. It was a dirty trick but less insulting than many of the things that Max had expected her to do.
[Less talking, more stabbing.] Nico laughed as the four blades of Shattered Pride rained blows upon the mighty form of Dominus, pushing Huntress Khan back across the arena floor.
The Hunters were loving it. They had never fought a mechanized enemy whose machines could move so fast. The pilots' minds and bodies were too slow to compete with the Hunters in their own specialty, so once they got in close combat, like in the arena, the battles were inevitably lopsided.
Dominus managed to land a blow on Nico's lower right arm, cutting the main control rod and rendering it limp, though it was still holding the blade, dragging it across the floor with a soft scraping noise that made the stalking motion of the four armed Mecha sound as ominous as it looked.
If Dominus was the proud and noble Hunter, Shattered Pride was a predator, raw and feral, stalking it around the ring as blades met spear, and energy blasts were exchanged in both directions.
Nico had an uncanny ability to avoid getting hit anywhere sensitive, while Huntress Khan wielded her spear with such skill that very few blades were making it past her guard to damage her Mecha.
It wasn't going well for the Hunter champion, though, and with an unexpected side shift, Nico managed to cross her blades on the shaft of the spear and tear it from the grip of Huntress Khan, who immediately charged to Grab the wrists of Nico's Mecha, forcing her arms up so she couldn't slash at Dominus while it was vulnerable.
With a kick to the back of a knee and a quick twist, Nico threw Dominus over the shoulder of Shattered Pride, sending the Mecha skidding across the floor with an ear-shattering screech.
Huntress Khan took the chance to activate her Mecha's thrusters, moving to grab her spear and regaining her feet just in time to parry Nico's follow-up blows before taking a blast from a Disruptor on her lower arm to the Mecha's face, blackening many of its sensors, and turning Huntress Khan's movements sluggish for a moment before a portion of the chest armor turned transparent, and she resumed the fight under her own senses.
The butt of her spear flashed up against the side of Shattered Pride's knee, sending the Mecha to the ground before the point of the spear pinned the mecha to the floor just as two blades sunk deep into the torso of Dominus.
For a moment, everyone waited in breathless anticipation as the two Mecha stood motionless over each other. Then, both cockpit doors opened, and two smiling women, one massively muscular with sandy skin and long black dreadlocks, one petite with shining black curls, faced each other.
"It seems we have come to a draw, Huntress Khan. Both suits have powered down due to damage." Nico chuckled while her opponent surveyed the carnage to her Mecha, as well as to the ring, from their battle.
"I did not expect such a glorious duel from the humans. Tell me, Tarith Rage, are you the greatest of Humanity's champions?" Huntress Khan asked.
"I could only wish for that title. I am not even the greatest champion aboard Terminus, only the greatest of the females. You see, our men are the larger of our species, and my Commander is both stronger and faster, with better Mecha combat skills and a more powerful Mecha than mine." Nico replied.
Huntress Khan's eyes lit up with joy at that announcement, and Nico frowned.
"No stealing my man."
The assembled crowd of Hunters burst into laughter, hundreds of thousands of voices joining the thousands aboard Terminus in mirth over Nico's claim over Max.
[It seems your future is decided for you. Congratulations.] The Illithid congratulated Max as one, not bothering to hide their amusement at the unusual circumstances or the look on his face.Chapter 390 390 Negotiations Needed
Name:Humanity's Greatest Mecha Warrior System Author:
+ - Turn on Reset
The Hunters carefully extracted the two Mecha from their death embrace, removing the blades from the armor and shifting them to anti-gravity platforms, where they were taken back to their respective hangars, Huntress Khan's to their repair bay, and Nico's back to the Cutter.
"The first thing I must ask is if all humans are like you. Are they great warriors? We haven't seen much sign of advanced technology among them, and we were losing hope before you came to see us aboard that repurposed Colony Ship." Huntress Khan asked.
"Most are not as skilled as I am, and as you saw, their technology is lower. Our Mecha is a unique design created by this generation, so they haven't been spread to other groups yet, not even the ones we are allied with." Nico responded.
"Interesting. So most groups of the species are incapable of Warp 10 and cannot build a weapon that can give us a decent duel?
That is a conundrum. By our laws, you might be the only group of humans we would consider Sentient beings and not a game species. But if the rest are close to your standards, then it would be a significant moral issue back home, as the current sentiment says that we should no longer hunt planets with sentient creatures for entertainment." Huntress Khan informed her.
"Most of the larger groups in this region have at least one or two Mecha that could outperform the ones we used today on the battlefield, but they don't often engage in duels, so the designs are made for long-range engagements between a mixture of military assets," Nico explained.
Huntress Khan looked horrified at that news. "You involve the weak and those incapable of piloting a Hunting Suit in your battles? Even the battles against each other?"
Nico just shrugged, unsure what the best way to explain it was.
"In some battles, we involve everyone who is not a child or invalid. Human battles can be quite brutal, and though the larger Mechanized forces prefer to face each other, it isn't uncommon for there to be collateral damage among the lighter units or the infantry."
The Huntress just shook her head. "And here, the Alliance calls us savages for hunting the Game Species just because some of them can talk."
Nico patted the much larger woman on the shoulder in consolation. "In all honesty, they only even spoke to us because we reached Warp 10 with a Cutter, and even then, we are still under observation, and our entire Galaxy is listed as a restricted area while they try to determine how to classify us. We have some Innu and Illithid guests aboard the ship for a vacation, though, and we are hoping they will put in a good word for us that will at least convince the Alliance to consider limited trade agreements."
"Those are good choices. The Innu know much about technology, and we have learned a lot from our interactions with them. The Illithid is just one huge creepy hive mind, though, and they don't even have Hunters Suits. They just dominate the minds of their enemies. I will get you a detection token that indicates when they are trying to influence the minds of those around them. It is the only way that they can be trusted."
Nico smiled in gratitude. "That could be incredibly useful. We have nanotechnology that usually warns us about attacks on the body and mind, but you can never be too cautious."
"Yes, our sensors detected that, but we couldn't determine the purpose of them, despite the fact almost all of your humans aboard are hosts. So they are a medical tool?" Huntress Khan asked.
"Far more than that. The artificial intelligence is coded to our genetics so that we can pass them to our children, and nanotechnology slowly rebuilds our bodies far beyond the human baseline so that we are individually more effective warriors.
Huntress Khan burst into laughter at that news and gave Nico a big hug, startling her with the unexpected affection.
"Our species was once a quadrupedal reptile species, which developed great intelligence due to an accident with an alien ship crashing into our planet. The first technology that we developed was genetic engineering to improve ourselves and eliminate our vulnerabilities.
We made ourselves warm-blooded, faster, and stronger, with better eyesight in new spectrums of light and heat, then finally, we made ourselves bipedal for optimum mobility when raiding other species for new technology.
Hearing you talk about your people is like hearing about our own children but left to work everything out without guidance. You're all just doing the best you can and then adopting things that worked better than the thing your parents tried."
Nico sighed. "I'm not sure if that is a compliment or an insult, but I will take it as a compliment since, according to your computer system, I really am a child in comparison."
Huntress Khan stepped back, confused. "What do you mean? I am among the youngest of our champions, at only six hundred standard cycles, by the Alliance Calendar."
"And I am less than twenty, by Alliance reckoning. Humans grow to maturity much faster than Hunters do." Nico replied.
Her words were only making the Huntress happier for some reason.
"Baby Hunters. A whole ship full of primordial Hunter infants." She whispered.
"Would you like to come aboard and meet the crew? I am sure that they will want to hold some sort of meeting about an agreement not to hunt planets full of humans for sport." Nico suggested.
"Can we at least hunt SOME of them? The ones that are on the wrong path? Or the ones without the developmental nanotechnology?"
This was not going to be an easy meeting.
"We have a system known as Mercenaries, where outside forces can be hired to join a battle on behalf of one side or another. Would that be compatible with your ethics?" Nico asked.
"Possibly, in very limited circumstances. We would never allow Hunters to be hired by a Game Species though, and I am not convinced that most humans aren't game." Huntress Khan replied carefully.
"Then, if you would like to assemble a team, we can have the ones who enjoy such details work out an agreement about what is game, what is not, and the formalities for joining a Hunt if you find something exciting to fight," Nico replied.
"Excellent plan. We can leave it to the men and have a drink. Tell me, do humans know about alcohol?"