C62 Deception
Deception.
Cradle System.
Walter sat in his office aboard the TMS Warden, reading through what little he had been given about this, Sovereign. No species detail other then a picture, no racial name, just, Sovereign, like it was a singular entity.
The Siren had already started to trade resources with Terra. A means to increase their relationships as their new contact claimed, a young man that called himself Mathew. As supposedly, Eden was eager to foster a better relationship with the Commonwealth, and given the current state of the war with the Seltran, that was actually a welcome effort.
It bugged Walter a little that Marianna and Thomas seemed to have disappeared, as Mathew claimed them to take care of personal matters for the time being, with no means to contact them. Despite the fact that Marianna was still being considered the Queen of Eden.
It made it feel like they had something to hide. And the pressure from intelligence, to find out more about the assumed smuggling of Psykers into Siren territory. Well, it did not make his job any easier. He could not spy on them, and Mathew was skillfully evading any questions about it.
“ Mathew Mornings. “ Walter uttered under his breath, considering his new contact with the Siren. He looked young, but was eloquent when it mattered, calm and calculating. He knew how to steer the conversation to a degree that nearly felt like manipulation. A Person to be careful about in future dealings, but that was not the crux of the current visit.
Sovereign, the new entity that had stepped onto the field, out of nowhere. To simply offer trade through another party, not bothering to truly reveal themselves, not even to the Siren by their claims. And Eden held back informations for a while themselves, supposedly waiting on Sovereign to grand them permission.
Walter did not quite believe that, in part because he did not trust this Mathew character. Mathew was giving himself as too shrewd in the few talks they had since replacing Marianna. Walter failed to see how he would simply permit an unknown to approach them, unless it bore advantages that could simply not be ignored.
All they had on Sovereign so far, was the claim that they were of an unknown species, with no place of origin, no marked down territory, and the moniker of a mercenary that may have been blatant coincidence. Or least, that’s what it looked like at first.
Now though, having been given a picture of the leading entity of Sovereign, and seeing what should have been a robotic representative of a Merc, it seemed to close a resemblance to be coincidence.
Either the Siren where playing a game, or this new entity had already been exploring the Commonwealth while pretending to be human. Because, by what he was told, Sovereign was not human at all.
They would have to investigate this Andrew White character more closely. Though revealing themselves now, it probably meant that, if those two were related, then Andrew would likely disappear soon. Unless they still had another use for that identity anyway.
And that was not the only avenue to consider. Siren were suspected of infiltrating the commonwealth with their ability to change shape. Who was to say this Sovereign was truly a new species, and not some ploy of theirs to infiltrate Terran space.
“ No, that doesn’t fit. “ Walter groaned, leaning back in his seat.
He admitted that his thinking was perhaps biased by Terran propaganda. Paranoia towards other species was standard. And it was held alive by the occasional find of alien ruins found on some worlds within Terran space.
The Terran believe was simple in that regard. Inward perfection. Alien species being encountered would either be subdued, or try to subdue humans. It was only a question of who was the more powerful entity between the two. And believing themselves destined to rule this galaxy, Terran’s sought to grow stronger, so that no other may dare consider them weak.
Psykers, which could potentially become such a strength were not included in that vision, and likely because non-psykers feared to be reduced to a second class citizen, if Psykers grew to numerous and powerful. And as little as there was known about Psyker abilities, it seemed clear to leadership that some of them would be hard, if not outright impossible to control.
It worried Walter, he was not sure what to believe anymore. Thomas used to be a good friend of his, before he defected over to the Siren upon realizing he was a Psyker. And after the last few contacts with Thomas and Marianna, Walter begun to question if the Terran believe about Psykers truly was the right approach.
“ Commander Petrov, Mornings just informed us that the Sovereign delegation is approaching the gate. They will reach Haven station in about an hour. “ The ships captain informed via the intercom.
“ Understood Cap. I’ll be out in 40. “ Walter responded.
So they too would use the catapult network the Siren used. That was one thing to make a mental note about. He’d have to see a little more of them. Ships, behavior, and so forth. Only then could he make more of an estimate about them. But either way, more resources would be welcome right now.
Terran ship production was at it’s peak at the moment. To keep up with the ship losses incurred during the war. As the Seltran forces held firm control over the border Systems with little sign of them budging.
While the resource production on the Terran side wasn’t bad, there were shortcomings with some of the materials as many settled colonies were not about minerals, but self-sufficiency.
“ So basically. If they are Alien, we wont trust them, but we’ll tolerate them for the benefits they will bring us. “ Walter groaned to himself, summarizing the Terran stance towards the Idea of an alien species approaching them.
It felt off, he always trusted Terran High Command, but with his own perception, watching Karlo’s act, the divide that formed on the Highest level, it was beginning to all feel wrong somehow.
45 Minutes later.
“ Mathew. “ Walter greeted the other as he entered the conference room, if only because Mathew preferred to remain on a first name basis.
“ Walter, good to see you again. “ Mathew greeted, reaching out to shake Walters hand.
“ I received the information you have on Sovereign yesterday. It seems a little sparse. “ Walter noted, shaking Mathews hand before taking a seat at the large table.
“ It is sadly all we have on them. “ Mathew responded, taking a seat himself.
“ Then, how did you meet them ? “ Walter pushed, not satisfied with that response.
“ One of their ships entered Cradle heavily damaged. It was using fusion reactors, and one of them blew up on them. We ended up helping them repair the ship. But I think it was some kind of, test. “ Mathew explained.
“ What makes you say that ? “ Walter asked.
“ It was a massive ship, but there was only one of them on board. And the ships I seen afterwards use a different IFF. The ship that crashed into this system Identified as the INC Hope, but the ships we seen later use SVR as identifier. “ Mathew responded.
“ Hope, that suggest they use the English language. “ Walter observed.
“ Or, they don’t show us everything. It feels more like, those are ships especially adapted to us, what they dare to show us. I seen two ship types of theirs. And the smaller vessel appears to be adapted to meet our transportation standards.
But before they adapted it to medium freight containers, they appeared more like, mobile mining vessels, and the other ship, a behemoth in size, was tooled to be a mobile factory. “ Mathew offered.
“ Which might suggest they go where resources are, possibly Nomadic in nature. “ Walter assumed.
“ That’s what we have been thinking too. But it is all assumptions, and perhaps even deliberate distractions, given that the factory ship was the one that came to Cradle with it’s broken fusion reactor. Like they wanted us to gain that conclusion. “ Mathew noted.
“ Which means they might be lying and follow an ulterior motive. “ Walter considered verbally.
“ Or, given recent event’s, they may just be extremely careful and assure we make the wrong assumptions. Between what Terran’s think Siren capable of, and the Terran’s stance towards alien species, I would not fault them for that. “ Mathew countered.
“ The Sovereign delegation is in system, their lead ship is approaching Haven station to dock now. “ Aria then interrupted.
It caused Walter to raise an eyebrow, as the ingrained distrust of AI made it easy to dislike Aria. But Walter quickly restrained himself, reminding himself that Aria was usually being considerate during these meetings, and she had not shown any hostility towards the Siren or Terra, yet.
“ Shall we go meet our guests ? “ Mathew offered, though it was less of an offer, as both he and Walter knew that it was being expected of them as envoys, to meet certain formal standards.
“ Yes. Lets. “ Walter agreed, so that soon after, they were headed towards the dock assigned to the delegation from Sovereign.
“ So, they keep just, trading with you ? “ Walter would still pressure for answers, even as they moved towards the dock.
“ Yes, noble gases mostly, and deuterium 3, but they also expressed interest in our drive technology. “Mathew responded.
“ Drive technology ? “ Walter wondered openly.
“ Aye, and we are considering it as they seem to have the ability to quickly adapt tech to their ships, and their Android technology is far beyond what we have. “ Mathew shared, which peaked Walters interest.
“ The SVR Dawn is docked. “ Aria announced, warning the two representatives of Eden and Terra to direct their attention towards the airlock, that now was cycling pressure values to permit passage between the ship and the station.
“ Aria suggested it’s their lead ship ? They came with multiple vessels ? “ Walter asked then.
“ Yes, they have two heavily armed vessels at a distance. Large frigates, but I am detecting armament comparable to that of a destroyer vessel. “ Aria explained, which prompted Walter to look a bit worried at Mathew.
“ It is their way. Using unarmed vessels to show diplomatic interest is the way we approach things. But they tend to have guards along. Their show of diplomatic interest is seemingly shown by keeping those vessels out of weapons range. “ Mathew explained.
“ Not very assuring. “ Walter responded, and then straightened his pose as the door to the airlock opened.
Sovereign then stepped into the main reception area, and Walter could finally see this being in person. And Sovereign was not alone, as he was flanked by two more beings he could most easily describe as elven of a female type, by human understanding at least.
And the contrast between them was striking, as everything the lead person had in black, was pure white on the other two, an appearance that made him wonder if it was a reflection of gender, or conscious choice made to highlight the male in their group. Which certainly, it did.
“ Sovereign. “ Mathew greeted as Sovereign approached, hands clasped together as he moved casually towards Walther and Mathew, only to lightly nod toward Mathew at first.
“ A pleasure to meet again, Mathew. “ Sovereign then spoke, and offered another light nod towards Walter then.
“ And you must be, from the Commonwealth ? “ Sovereign spoke then directly toward Walter.
“ Yes, Walter Petrov, pleasure to meet you. “ Walter responded.
Walter felt a little uncomfortable with Sovereigns presence. Those black orbs that seemed to look at him alone, were unsettling. But Sovereign was not showing anything friendly, he appeared stern and cold, like a beast that was looking down at prospective prey.
Walter tried not to show his discomfort, but he could understand now while that file made a point of describing Sovereigns presence as, intense. That pale skinned face, it combined a strange beauty, and something that felt like cruel disinterest. An appearance that by presence alone may not get along well with the Terran Commonwealth.
“ Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Walter. “ Sovereign spoke, nonchalantly moving to first name basis without being invited to it. And the two women flanking him seemed to smile lightly amused at how Walter seemed to struggle with the situation.
“ Then, shall we move back to the conference room ? “ Mathew offered to derail this awkward moment.
“ Yes, that may be best. “ Walter agreed, turning towards Mathew as he gave into the urge to escape Sovereigns gaze. It made him feel like he was being placed under a magnifying glass.
Sovereign would only nod, and follow the two men when Mathew begun to lead the way.
“ Please, have a seat. “ Mathew offered Sovereign when they reached the conference room, and both he and Walter would sit down, if only after Sovereign moved to sit.
“ So, you have requested my presence ? “ Sovereign then started, surprising Walter.
“ Yes, the Terran Commonwealth would like to get to know you and your people a little better, before we enter into any agreement. “ Walter begun.
“ Was my offer not clear ? “ Sovereign interrupted then.
“ Excuse me ? “ Walter uttered, a little confused by Sovereigns near hostile reaction.
“ We offer trade. We have goods useful to you, you have goods useful to us. We made it clear through Eden that we desire no relationship past that. And clearly, your Commonwealth would not welcome my kind to begin with, would it ? “ Sovereign blatantly stated.
“ I. “ Walter would try, but then he was being interrupted by Sovereign again.
“ The offer is simple. Trade. We deliver minerals, and we accept noble gases in return. We also hold interest in your production methods for carbon fiber plating, your means to create synthetic diamonds.
We also will accept your credits, based on the assumption that we may use them for later purchases. And your Commonwealth either accepts our offer, or it does not. “ Sovereign exclaimed.
“ This is, quite unusual. We actually hoped to understand your people a little before entering into trade relations. “ Walter protested, watching how one of the women handed Sovereign a Padd.
“ We understand how Terran’s operate. And we have no interest to play your game. And if the Terran Commonwealth is not interested in trading with us, we will simply find another market to trade our goods. “ Sovereign blatantly stated, handing over the padd towards Walter.
“ What is-, “ Walter uttered, looking at the padd that listed a more detailed listing of the resources Sovereign was willing to trade, and the monthly amounts that were available to be delivered.
“ If the Commonwealth is not willing to trade, we will simply approach the Seltran. “ Sovereign then stated.
“ That is blackmailing ! “ Walter protested.
“ It is simple economics. The Commonwealth is the bigger marketplace. But if you fail to provide the market we need, we will go to someone that can. That is not a threat, just the most logical conclusion. “ Sovereign counters.
“ Perhaps, we can calm down a moment and-, “ Mathew tried to intervene, to try and calm the minds a little, but Sovereign simply interrupted then.
“ This meeting is concluded. We made our offer. It is on the table, as humans say, for two weeks. If we have no response by then, we will approach the Seltran instead. “ Sovereign insisted as he rose from his chair.
“ Now wait just a moment! “ Walter demanded as he got up himself.
“ Fair warning, if our ships are approached with any intent to stop them, they are ordered to open fire. Test us at your own peril. “ Sovereign warned, and simply turned to leave then.
At that point, Mathew stopped Walter from voicing anymore protest by placing his hand on the other’s shoulder, signaling him that there was no point in any argument now. Which allowed Sovereign the opportunity to leave the room with his entourage.
“ That was, surprisingly hostile. “ Walter then uttered when the door closed behind Sovereign and those two women, slowly getting seated again as he tried to comprehend what just conspired. And looking down at the provided padd, he could see that the offered trade capacity nearly filled 10% of the Commonwealth’s own industrial production.
That did not sound like a lot, until one was to consider that they could give this amount freely away in trade for other things. Suggesting their economic capacity was much larger still. And if translated into military might, regardless of technological level, it was likely at a level close to the Seltran.
Adding in prospective technological level differences, suggested they either were running a very good bluff, or they were someone the Commonwealth should keep an eye on before making any hasty decisions.
“ Well, looking at it from the outside. The Terran stance toward anyone outside their influence is not exactly a friendly one. It appears to me that Sovereign may be trying to be straightforward in his own position towards the Commonwealth. “ Mathew offered.
“ So, their behavior is less hostile towards you ? “ Walter asked.
“ It is cold and calculated. And in my perception, had they had any hostile intent, they would not reveal themselves beforehand. “ Mathew suggested.
“ Unless they needed something from you, like access to Terran space. “ Walter countered.
“ Then the question is, what will the Commonwealth do ? “ Mathew wondered.
“ Well, if he truly can deliver on this proposed trade amount, I don’t think Terran High Command will want to let it go to the Seltran. “ Walter admitted while reaching up to massage his forehead.
“ This was, far less informative then I had hoped for. “ Walter admitted then.
“ Well, I learned something new at least. I have not seen those women before. Our contact so far was either through an Android, or Sovereign himself. “ Mathew remarked.
“ This is going to be a pain in the ass. “ Walter groaned, considering how High Command was likely to chew him out over this.
Then Walter took his own Padd, and started taking pictures of the listing provided by Sovereign, following protocol not to bring along a strangers device with possible manipulation, and only collect the information that was contained on it.
“ I think, I best get this to THC. And I guess, I will be in contact with you concerning their response, considering we have no means to contact Sovereign ourselves still. “ Walter spoke then.
“ Please do. And good luck. “ Mathew offered, standing up to shake Walters hand.
“ Yeah, I guess I will be needing it. “ Walter agreed, getting up to shake Mathews hand, only to then turn and leave, shaking his head in disbelieve.
Mathew would wait for Walter to leave, and then smile to himself as he moved to leave the conference room through another door. Entering a restricted room where he dropped his disguise, turning back into the male Nah’Rahan, known as Modaran.
“ Aria, connect me to Anthony please. “ He instructed the AI.
“ Will do. “ Aria responded, and a moment later, Anthony connected to him through Hope.
“ Mathew Mornings ? really ? “ Anthony uttered as the connection stood.
“ Well, I never did mean to reveal myself to anyone, not even you, but Ina made short work of that disguise back then. “ Modaran responded.
“ But, you might have pushed just a bit to hard there. “ He then added, given how hostile Anthony handled the situation with Walter.
“ It should do the trick though. I don’t think they will want to let the Seltran get their hands on these resources. And I do think they will be all eyes for Sovereign’s ships now, allowing you more leeway to go about your business. “ Anthony responded, basing his claim on their talks during the last two days.
Anthony had been reaching out to Modaran to feel out what the Terran’s may need. Still to lack a concrete plan about his own approach then. But Modaran put him into the picture about what their plan was meant for. That it was not simply an increase in pirate presence, but to create a distraction so they could smuggle Psykers out of Terran space.
Somehow Anthony devised this plan then, to act out Sovereign in a way that felt most natural to him now. As the cold and impulsive Ruler that he perceived him as. And it was surprisingly easy, least, while he could still hide behind Sovereign’s face.
Besides, they had a genuine need for fuel and noble gases. The technology and credits was merely a bonus, a show to suggest that Sovereign may be interested in longer term deals, if on his terms.
And given how little they knew about Sovereign, they would likely move to keep an eye on him, spending what little resources they had to spare, to assure he was not going to stab them in the back.
“ Do you think, you can keep up with the suggested amounts ? “ Modaran asked, a bit worried as Anthony set a high bar on the trading amounts in minerals.
“ With my current stockpile and production, I can keep the set amount going for three month. By then, our production should be increased enough to cover it longterm, if needed. “ Anthony responded.
“ Three month should be fine. But I am guessing the Commonwealth may try to bind you into a long term contract, at least until they dealt with the Seltran. “ Modaran suggested.
“ Will the Seltran be fine with this ? “ Anthony asked.
“ I already informed them. They see no problem in it as they themselves have started expanding their territory. It is their expectation that the Commonwealth will try a few more major attacks, before realizing that they can not break through. After which a sort of, cold war stage is likely to occur.
The Seltran are still holding out hope, that the Commonwealth will come to understand the futility of their war with them. It’s their assumption that the Terran’s will eventually move onto a diplomatic stage with them. “ Modaran responded.
“ Good. Then let’s hope they are right. “ Anthony noted.
“ Let me know once the Terran’s send word, I try and expand the economic base further by then, keep them guessing for a while. “ Anthony spoke then.
“ Good. I will leave the Wishkeeper over there for some time to assist in ship production. And Anthony, thanks for your help. “ Modaran responded.
“ No worries, you guys helped me a lot before. Circumstances may not have been the best, but we got to work with what we have. “ Anthony remarked.
“ Indeed. “ Modaran agreed wholeheartedly.