[h3][center]Heiwa no tochi[/center][/h3]

The Abh simply accepted the occupation, neither cheering the Romans on nor fighting them. They just hung their heads lower than they usually did and went along with their daily business. They weren't Abh before, so why should they care what the Romans wanted to call them? As far as they knew, all the occupation meant was a difference in the shape of landing freighters. Some of the Abh even commented on it under their breath, joking about how pathetic it was that the Romans had taken their world after failing at Kibō-Hosh.

As the anthem began to play, a few Abh started to giggle. The translation was second-rate at best, and the grammar. There were spaces where there should have been none, and multiple phrases were just stringed together in such a terrible mockery of grammar that many wondered how a singer could even get through them without breathing. It was less intimidating than funny, though the Abh tried their best not to let the Romans know that.

A young man, wearing a worn black and gold uniform of some kind, was walking down the street. His head wasn't hung low like the others, and he carried a bag of groceries that raised more than a few eyebrows. None of the ingredients went together in Abh cuisine, but for whatever reason, he seemed quite happy with his choice. He had a blade in a sheath hanging from his hips, apparently a typical katana. An odd weapon for an exile, especially with how old it seemed to be. Its design was clearly based off of that of a weapon from Abh myth, said to have been used by the God Ningen to fend off Draka. Such a blade hadn't been made in thousands of years, and it was rare for even a noble to have such an ancient weapon.

He bumped into a Roman soldier, apparently lost in thought on his way home. He pretended to lose his balance, letting himself fall and knock one of the soldier's legs out from under them, causing them to humiliatingly fall while he caught himself using the side of a building.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" He said, half in fake sincerity, and half mockingly. "My, you look so much like us! It's hard to believe that I could just tear off your arm right now, funny how much stronger we are, isn't it?"

[center][h3]Hinansho System, Roman/Abh Border[/h3][/center]

Empress Laidach frowned at the fleet's report. The enemy was bolstering their lines with new ships, apparently alien in design. The Roman kept getting stronger and stronger every day, first their battle mechs, and now foreign allies. If they kept this up, then they could mount an assault on the homeworld soon. Judging by the reports from Kibō-hosh, a defeat at the border would spell destruction for the homeworld, as the Romans seemed to be intent on nothing less than genocide. She could only hope that R&D could make something to end the war before that could happen.

[i]Why would they ever do that?[/i] Thought Laidach, staring at the images of the new alien ships. For some reason, she felt like these new aliens had betrayed the Abh, despite the two species having never met. She passed it off as simple nationalism, she had believed that it was everyone's duty to defend the Empire that she had begun to expect it of aliens as well. Nevertheless, she couldn't shake the thought that the aliens didn't know the full story.

She noticed the fleet moving to hide in the asteroid belt, their signatures disappearing behind asteroids on the sensor grid. It as a basic maneuver, based off of an assumption that a battle would take place. These new aliens really had no idea of how things worked at the line. There weren't any battles beyond the Abh sniping a few Roman ships that strayed too close to the site of fist contact, that's how it had always been, and even Laidach doubted it would change.

"Open a channel with the new fleet." She ordered, the communications officer onboard quickly carrying out the order.

"Greetings, unidentified vessels, and welcome to the Hinansho System. It seems as though you have chosen to assist our enemies, for reasons I cannot possibly comprehend. Perhaps you see something to gain, or perhaps you have been coerced by the Romans into believing that they are the victims here. Make no mistake, they started this war, and they did it in order to enslave us. If you wish to gain power, you shall find none here. You both lost the war the moment you declared it, now the only question is whether or not we will win."