[center][h2]Hinansho System, The Line[/h2][/center]

As the Roman psionic message spread through the minds of the Abh, the entire empire fell silent for a few moments, as the Abh absorbed the information. Then, a giant signal emanated from the gas giant Orenjiro, reaching into the minds of everyone in the system and even beyond as it spread into interstellar space at FTL speeds. It wasn't a psionic or magical signal, but anyone sensitive to either could feel its power. Whatever it was, it burrowed deep into the synapses of all within its range.

It was an incredibly powerful burst of energy, manifesting as a giant mental shock. It was as if the recipient had just been informed of something they couldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams. For the Abh, however, the experience was different. Once again, something changed in their minds. The dreams of exploration they once held crumbled, replaced by images of dead Romans and the Imperial banner flying on New Rome. Just as it had always been, everyone was well aware of it. No explanations, no reasons, only the end result. While they could question it, they could never escape it.

With every Abh the signal reached, it grew stronger, some kind of power within then amplifying it. They themselves began transmitting, each giving off their own signature signal. Countless voices, screaming out into the void, showing all that might come across it the dreams of their owners. To leave their planet, to become a hero, to meet an alien, to learn, to explore, to love. For a moment, it was a beautiful melody, but then it changed. The voices began to synchronize. They became more uniform with every moment, until they formed only one word:

Win.

A message was sent from the Excalibur to the Roman flagship, with the Empress' voice passed on from her mech.

"Hah! You expect us to take the word of the King of Lies, the man who would steal the minds of our soldiers and force them to do your bidding! The man who carved an Empire to take from those who joined it, not give to them! The only peace with the New Roman Empire will come from your surrender or our eradication! To the aliens who would ally themselves with our enemies, you have one chance to back out or join us. After the choice you make here, there can be no going back."

She quickly redirected her attention to the Septonian vessel, transmitting a map of Abh space along with known Roman positions to the ship. She also transmitted a heavily compressed file, along with some sort of program to decode the information inside of it.

"We cannot guarantee your safety if you leave our space, so I'd have to advise against it. The 7th planet-the gas giant-is the location of our shipyards and fuel production facilities. You'll be safe there. Another good choice is Heiwa no Tochi, it's a pacifist colony outside of Imperial jurisdiction, though we trade with them quite often. I doubt the Romans would bother attacking it. We are honor-bound to protect and provide for you as you pass through our space, so don't hesitate to ask for help. If there's anything you need, it will be provided for you. That file contains all that we know about the Romans, as well as everything we know about ourselves."

She broke up her flight to bow, her mech carrying out the complex action the moment she ordered it. Lasis had demanded that the mechs be able to bow during their development. Apparently she had said that if they couldn't bow, then there was no reason to let them be able to fight.

"May your gods and our own grant you luck on your journey. Oh, before you do, what does 'Terran' mean? Our translators are based off of ancient technology, and usually get things right, but it identified the word as a proper noun."