[h2]Ak'wa, Ka'ak, Ch'ak System[/h2]

Cha'ki'la is'Ku'nai'rak es'Ken'ka'zu, First Governor of Ch'ak and its people, stood alone in their lavish room talking to themself. They were practicing for their upcoming speech, repeated the same phrases and body motions over and over again. Recording themself and then stepping back to watch the hologram recording of themself from all angles before starting all over again and adjusting their voice and motions until they were just perfect. For they were giving a speech addressed to the billions of Ch'ak'ii whom they had been elected to govern, and those people deserved nothing but the best Cha'ki'la could give them. But the First Governor could not practice forever, and eventually they were forced to stop nitpicking over the speech and actually get dressed. Not that it too particularly long as Cha'ki'la favoured a form of formal wear adopted from one of the Uy cultures; it was a loose robe fastened with several belts around the midsection and leaving the right half of their upper chest bare. Cha'ki'la liked it since, aside from the belts around the stomach, it was rather comfortable and roomy, and this particular garment was made of an exquisite fabric that shimmered in a rainbow of colours as the light touched it.

Cha'ki'la managed to get a few more moments of practice in as they tweaked their gestures and tone before one of the aides arrived to inform them that it was time to move. And along the way, Cha'ki'la enjoyed another look at his home; the building itself had been updated at great cost over its existence, resulting in it being the longest-inhabited structure in the world. The floor was fine carpet, and the walls were a smooth white stone. It was a place of beauty even from the inside, but it truly shined when Cha'ki'la stepped out onto the balcony to see the thronging crowd gathered below him. The First Governor's Palace had been built during the advent of gunpowder on Ka'ak, and it showed. Several massive stone walls complete with buttresses and bastions were placed at intervals along a massive hill at which the palace proper stood, and almost all available space was taken up by thronging crowds, with those farthest away having to watch from floating screens, as they were too far to see the First Governor properly. And the view from the balcony was one Cha'ki'la quite enjoyed; they could see the older historical districts of Ak'wa with their much smaller buildings, alongside the towering and shining skyscraper that made up the newer sections. It was the stark contrast of past and future that they liked, but at the moment Cha'ki'la had more important business to attend to than admiring the scenery.

"Today, I speak to all of the great people of Ch'ak. No matter who you may be, no matter what you may be, know that today I speak to you, my siblings. Yes, siblings, for are we not all the children of great Ch'ak? Whether you be T'kai or Uy, you are a child of Ch'ak, as am I. You are a child of a great civilization; of a great nation. For if there is one thing that Ch'ak is, it is most certainly great. And that is a statement I do not believe is doubted by any one of you, for who could deny it? Certainly none who live here, basking in Ch'ak's greatness day after day, could refute the fact that Ch'ak is great."

"But I worry for the future of Ch'ak, and I worry for the greatness and wellbeing of its people. Not from any threat, tangible or otherwise, in the present. But a truly adept leader does not merely look at the present, but to the future as well. And history has shown us how quickly that a great nation can crumble and fall to ruin. And so I look to the future, and I look outwards. Away from Ch'ak and towards the other great civilizations, of which we have had scant and precious contact. The Shim, the Hyu'min, the Sh'kor, the various other races of whom we know inhabit the galaxy with us but whom Ch'ak has been content to let sit alone."

"So far Ch'ak has let the outside worlds simply pass us by, alone and isolated inside Ch'ak. After all, what could we need from the outside? We receive all we need from the World Eaters and can manufacture all we require in Ch'ak itself. So what use could we have for the outside? But I believe that such an attitude is folly, for where others look to the present I am looking to the future. If we ignore the outside world, then we shall simply watch as it passes us by. They shall not stay at a distance forever, and they are more akin to the Uy empires of old. They do not sit and develop their home as we Ch'ak'ii do, but spread and multiply across the stars and eventually they shall spread to the stars close to us. And if we still know as little as we know now, I fear that Ch'ak shall remain ignorant of the outside world until it flows over us like a tidal wave and we are swallowed by it."

"But I shall not allow such a thing to pass, so I shall sow the seeds of Ch'ak's future greatness. Instead of waiting until the ocean outside washes over us and destroys all that we have built, we shall immerse ourselves in that ocean ourselves. On [i]our[/i] terms. We shall learn of the civilizations across the great gaps of space, and we shall either make friends and allies of them or we shall steel ourselves against those who would make enemies of us. For Ch'ak is great, and I shall make certain that it stays that way long after I have passed on."

------

[h2]Arcana System, Sol Federation[/h2]

T't't was nervous, and for a good reason. She was a diplomat, but she never expected she would be shipped off to Gods-Know-Where to make the first proper diplomatic contact with a civilization of which little was truly known. These so-called Hyu'min were apparently of a mind similar to the Ch'ak'ii in several ways, so they were chosen as one of two targets for Ch'ak's first diplomatic missions. Which were sent not only to establish diplomatic relations, but also to discern more actual concrete information about all the various civilizations that had their homes there. And as the head diplomat, there was a heavy burden on T't't's shoulders, and it made her nervous.

She was currently pacing along a deck with an impressive view of the stars outside. The diplomat's ship itself was an unarmed civilian vessel used for the ferrying of VIPs used to the comfortable life, which at present T't't was incredibly grateful as she filled another glass with a dark blue drink as she paced back and forth along the deck. The deck itself was transparent, which was slightly disorienting at first but didn't disrupt the view. And the view was impressive; the front of the ship was a large dome covered in cameras, while the interior was covered in screens linked to the cameras that made it appear like there wasn't a barrier at all. Granted, at present the view was primarily stars since they were still on the edge of the system but T't't enjoyed it.

"You should probably calm down, Ambassador," came a deep voice from the doorway and when T't't looked back she saw Guard-Master Av'ku'sha, the leader of the Army Corpsmen personally assigned to guard T't't. They strode over to the bar and grabbed a drink, before sitting at the table nearest the Ambassador, "Have a seat and relax, it'll be a while before we arrive anywhere."

"I am relaxed," T't't responded as she changed course to circle Av'ku'sha's table, "If I had to sit down I'd just get more agitated."

Av'ku'sha laughed, "I don't think I'll ever understand you Uy, always in a rush to get nowhere."

"And you T'kai would rather sit around thinking about what to do than actually doing anything," T't't said, though it was evident from her tone that it was just good-natured ribbing.

Av'ku'sha laughed before taking a drink, "So, are you ready, Ambassador T't't?"

"Not quite yet, but as you said it'll be a while," she replied, "So I have plenty of time to fully prepare. After all, it's not everyday that something this important rests on your shoulders."

"Oh, I'm certain you will do fine. It's not like we've never met Hyu'mins before."

"There's never been anything official. No translators or easy methods of communicating that we know of," T't't sighed, "It's not going to be easy. And I hope we don't end up blown out of the sky."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Av'ku'sha said with a grin, "We have four warships-"

"Four small warships," T't't corrected.

Av'ku'sha laughed it off, "All right, four small warships guarding us. And scanners have shown that traffic is relatively light, so it doesn't seem like this is a particularly important system. If things get violent, we should be able to jump out before there's any damage."

"All right, fair enough," T't't said, "And besides, you know more about the military side of things than I do. I'll just trust your judgement."

"Well thanks for the trust," Av'ku'sha said before holding out his glass, "And could you get me another drink when you pass by?"

T't't simply laughed it off as she continued on pacing, ignoring the Guard-Master's outstretched hand. The pair of them continued on like that, having a pleasant conversation as the five ships of the diplomatic mission made its way slowly to the inhabited planet in the system. The four small warships that were escorting the much smaller diplomatic ship all had their weapons powered completely down, and the diplomatic ship was broadcasting a message of peace on as many frequencies as it could. Though considering nobody in the system spoke either T'kai or Uy it was mostly a useless gesture, and the current plan was to slow to a stop once it seemed like there were ships being sent to intercept them.