Chapter 248: Cultural Victory
Coop found himself in the unusual position of negotiating with an alligator, and it wasn’t even the first time. The two didn’t exactly have a standard meeting of the minds, given their inability to directly communicate, but Coop did his best on behalf of both of them.
Rather than a negotiation that included a give and take with regard to different conditions as they came to an agreement, it was more of an offer for them to decide if the compromise was acceptable. Coop tried to fill two sides of the mediation as he came to the conclusion that the alliance option was only available when each side was amenable.
He found it interesting that almost every Infestation that he encountered had been open to the possibility of a relatively peaceful resolution. Only the Primal Constructs had forced the elimination option without any potential for negotiation, as far as Coop had experienced. Of course, all of the Undead Chosen, from the Zombie Lord to the Lich would have used an alliance as an opportunity to establish themselves in the role of a superior. It didn’t seem like an active posture, but rather the system dictating the relative stations of the two parties. This was the same logic between forced membership of factions and why the alien contracted residents sought to accumulate their own power to escape.
When Coop was a factionless nobody, the factions took priority and would have painted Ghost Reef in their colors. Now, the roles were essentially reversed. He wondered what would have happened if, instead of the Champion of a settlement, one of his companions was the one who reached the boss of an Infestation. What kind of deal would they be offered? He doubted it would have ever been favorable. In fact, he suspected they would have simply been absorbed by the Infestation if they chose to align with it. Now that they were representing a faction, they would certainly be in a better position as defined by the system.
Naturally, Coop rejected the elimination option of the quest and concentrated on establishing an alliance. Thankfully, the Infestation quests provided more details than most other system messages so he could gauge what they were getting themselves into before committing one way or the other. He read the result carefully, considering each perspective as much as he could while keeping in mind that he also had the liberty of simply leaving the quest incomplete.
Establishing an alliance would bolster the strength of Ghost Reef with the minions of the Swamp Lord, transforming them into the same level of unit as the phantoms while also forcing an evolution upon Dorothy that would effectively turn the lead alligator into the equivalent of Guard Captain Alaric; a manifestation of the core settlement. Coop would have walked away from the deal if he was the one being forced into an evolution, but the alligator didn’t have any particular negative reaction when he explained his perspective. Dorothy seemed content to retain her status as the Swamp Lord, even if it meant letting the system dictate her specific standing.
She evidently recognized Coop as someone worthy of respect, and he hadn’t even needed to get into a fight. If only humans were such excellent judges of character.
Knowing a little more about factions gave Coop additional thoughts on what such an arrangement would mean for them. As far as the Lighthouse was concerned, it meant that the alligators and the Swamp Lord herself would be possible manifestations in the event that they became a planetary sponsor. Aside from pirate phantoms and ethereal soldiers, they would have amphibious beasts, and albino alligator raid bosses alongside haunted armors, ghost admirals, and spectral generals. It also meant that they had more units available for the interfaction conflicts if it ever came to that.
Unlike the previous deals at the end of Infestations, Coop didn’t see any real downsides involving a forced change on his current residents. Most of the costs would be applied to the Swamp Lord and her minions, but there was one condition that he had to take note of. The Swamp Lord would be granted something like an independent kingdom within their territory.
After they formed the Alliance, the Infestation territory would become the same kind of territory as that of Ghost Reef’s mana pylons. Coop thought it was undeniably a good thing, especially given how effective the alligators had been in claiming the Everglades. The vast untamed lands between Empress City and Neptune’s Bridge could be claimed by the Swamp Lord and her minions in the name of Ghost Reef. It would add a significant chunk of land that the forces of mana would need to contend with during the Eradication Protocol, while simultaneously preventing the Primal Constructs from setting up their own shop on the Florida mainland. This was the kind of arrangement that the Underlayer Event was designed to counter, but Coop had no intention of ceding anything to the invaders.
Coop accepted the Alliance, and a few moments later, Dorothy did the same. It took several more seconds before a gentle pulse of energy cascaded across the swamps, spreading from the nearest mana pylon as the two territories became one. Coop patted Dorothy on the head in lieu of a handshake, feeling like it made the agreement official. She hissed in a non-threatening manner.
“I look forward to working with you.” Coop added, easily treating the albino alligator like a person, given how much practice he had interacting with other animals. She just eyed him with her pink eyes before returning to her pool.