[b][i]Opporunity II Orbit, Faira’Hexus, two days later[/i][/b]

Libra has been at a screen for the last two days, going over the many suggestions on how an alliance between their species would look like. The facts were that while their military contingents seemed to work well with each other, fond of it even, the civilians were an unknown. The Faira had little information about how they went presented on Naris prime.

It was that what shaped her thoughts on the alliance and how it should work. It would require some changes to the structure of their society, but they would be worth it in the end. Now though, she was interested what the other side came up with, as she impatiently waited for a transport from the Alchemist.

When the airlock opened, a quartet of Narix, exited, if a little bleary-eyed, entered the ‘Hexus. In the weeks she’s spent at Opportunity, the layout of the ship was firmly engraved into Runa’s memory and they found the meeting room with little effort. She remembered the day she first set foot into the room, full of barely masked uncertainty at the prospect of being alone on an alien ship. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Good morning, rear admiral. Please excuse the delay, technical issues with a maneuvering thruster.” she greeted as she took her seat, setting her tablet that contained whatever she might need in front of her. “Lord-commander Zorea’s troops treating you well?” She was initially a little frightened at the thought of four Warlord-class destroyers and their battlegroups, headed by the Ira herself, present at a system that was designated as military-free as possible in the first peace treaty.

“Greetings. I have actually had little contact with the world outside my quarters in the last two days, I imagine it was much the same to you.” the faira shared, rubbing her forehead. “Please, pick a seat, Admiral Lira should arrive shortly.” she noted, looking like she needed a recharge.

“Yes, I think I’m going to sleep in my office for the next few days, my quarters have become a little stale in the past day and a half.” she noted the rear admiral’s appearance. This would be a productive day. Fortunately, not everything looked as bad as they did, as the Faira oracles got an all-clear to survey Naris for a node, aided by the NSS Privateer, the construction of the Singularity was going along nicely and with the alliance being negotiated, the council was already clearing more workers to be deployed to that project. Unbeknownst to anyone but minister Ertanax, several shipwrights were contacted by the council to draft a Narix design of similar function to see where that would go.

“I hope at least the admiral got some rest.” minister Ertanax more or less collapsed onto his chair, “This can’t be healthy for either of our species.”

“If this all works, than at least in the military there might be a couple of redundant officers so that I could take a leave for the ‘Dea for a while. I would like to get out of this frozen coffin and warm up on a sundeck.” Libra agreed readily. “I do not suppose it would be too inviting given our homeworld is a city ship, but if you need a vacation, you are most likely free to visit after today.”

Lira chose that moment to arrive, wearing her uniform. Unlike the exo suits, it seemed to be a blue and grey dress uniform with red ranking insignia and golden wire embellishments. “Greetings, sorry for the delay, we’ve had a problem with the jump drive.”

“This is shaping up to be quite quite the day.” Ertanax noted grimly.

“No need to apologise, admiral. Some things are beyond control. Shall we begin?” Runa woke her tablet, displaying the footnotes of what the Narix wanted to go through, briefly reading through them and drawing a deep breath.

“No doubt you are aware the problem at hand is twofold. Fortunately, it would appear our militaries work well together, something made much easier by the OEP, so cooperation and any level of integration shouldn’t be difficult to organise. As a civilian with nought but civic guard experience, i will defer to minister Nebiros when it comes to that. The more troublesome side would be everything else. Worried they might be perceived as misusing their power and not reelected, the councilors commissioned a survey of opinion among our people.” She displayed the results on her tablet and handed it to Libra.

“As you can see, in the face of the Nightmare threat, an overwhelming majority of our people thought an alliance is the best course of action, with around 48 percent agreeing this federation of sorts should last even after this threat subsides. The problem with democracy is that any idiot has to be heard, and you have do doubt noticed the 4 percent that wish to do away with your species. Fortunately, that number is much lower than I had feared, therefore ay threat of extremism can be managed. That means two things: One, this alliance has the support of around three quarters of our population, meaning there is now nothing stopping us from seeing it through, and two, the majority of that final quarter is indifferent, which gives us time to sway their opinion. The four percent are insignificant and thus can be ignored for now.”

“For obvious reasons, we were initially skeptical of your idea of unification.” Minister Kandros took over. “When Narix hear ‘union’, we think of complete integration. That being said, our side would like to propose a sort of federation, where both our species’ governing bodies remain independent in governing our respective peoples and home systems, but would decide as one ruling body on matters of other systems and military. That would also entail joint research and development, exploration, as we’ve seen that can work, and exchange of knowledge and information. Given time, maybe even unrestricted travel to our homeworlds, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much.” he finished, eager to hear what the Faira had to say.

The Faira looked at the Narix delegation in bewilderment. “A four percent would do what? Is there a brain present in those individuals? This can not be ignored, I’m sorry, with your system who’s to say the next elections will not be dominated by them? This needs solutions, people!” Lira demanded.

“Unless said federation includes free travel of people, that system will not work in my book. You run into the same problem we had when Opportunity and the systems beyond were concerned. We do not even have laws as you understand them, would any Narix wanting to settle or even cross enlist in our military? Surely not.” Libra put that thought to rest.

“After much deliberation, I can only suggest that we merge our militaries. Given that for us that is synonymous with our state, it solves the civilian issue from our end. You would however have to allow us to enforce your laws upon your people much like your own forces would. In return, we are prepared to give you overall command of such joint force, you have more experience managing massive fleets than us in any event.”

“Four percent claim to want that. That doesn’t meant they would do it themselves nor does it mean they would actually have someone else do it. And although elections dominated by people like that are certainly possible, I can’t imagine what manner of terrible things would have to happen for that to be the case. I cannot imagine how four percent of witless hicks from Longus Mons or some other armpit of the universe could grow to be the majority.” Nebiros cimed in. “Sixteen percent of our population calls for reverting the Republic to a federation of pre-unification nations, that number has been steadily declining since the end of the Unification war, where it peaked at 43 percent. And still, they couldn’t do anything.”

“This is exactly why none of us are keen about complete integration with your species.” Runa explained. “You are bewildered by these statistics, did not understand the concept of crime, by your admission have no laws as we know them. We simply don’t see how two species so different to one another, not in terms of biology, but the way we think and behave, could exist in a single body. The problem is made more difficult by different understanding of civilians. That is why we wanted to keep our homeworlds separate, with the rest of discovered space administered jointly. Of course under such a system, your forces would have authority to enforce laws upon our people and vice versa, I thought that goes without saying. Same when it comes to free travel between systems. Naris and the Faira Nebula were excerpt from it for several reasons. I can see many civilians getting lost in the Nebula or stumbling upon things they are not meant to see. The latter issue applies to Naris as well.”

“Merging the militaries is possible, and would certainly bring some order into the cluttered mess  coordinating is now.” Nebiros continued. “Pray tell, by ‘merging’ do you mean a single command structure, or unifying equipment, doctrines and the like?”

“Pardon me, but last time no one could imagine, an ethnic group of your people was eventually wiped out, if I recall. But I’m willing to let this go if you keep us aware of the tendencies in the population.” Libra said, obviously not happy with their way of handling it, but there were more pressing concerns to address.

Libra continued: “Seeing as the nebula might be the only way out of our region of space, that might not be doable. For what it’s worth, we would be willing to move the cvillian fleet to Terminus, it seems more defensible and is not in the first strike vicinity of the Ancients. That would potentially solve that issue. Regarding the military, merging command structure for now. I imagine the rest will follow on it’s own whether we like it or not, there is no denying that we do some things better, and you others. Doctrines first as we are unavoidably exposed to one other’s, equipment as our engineers start to understand it.

“At the time of the Dark Ones Purge, our most advanced piece of technology was steel plate armor. Things have changed since then.” Nebiros snorted, “Then merging the militaries is something that is within our grasp.” Nebiros finally brightened up a little, “By comparing your and our designs, it seems your ships are geared for attack where our ships are designed for defense. Tell me, admiral, would you and your peers prefer to have specialised ships, or would you rather have ships that can do everything with reduced efficiency.” he turned to Lira, trying to get an idea of the way Faira commanders thought.

“Wouldn’t it be better to move the civilian fleet to Opportunity?” Runa inquired, “If we were attacked and overrun, you’d have nowhere to go from Terminus. By basing your fleet here, wherever the threat comes from, you’d have two nodes to retreat through.”

“Of course we would keep you informed, that falls under exchange of knowledge and information, not to mention keeping...” she took a moment to calculate, “...two percent of the population safe.”

“You are right, if there turned out to be a way out through one of our home systems, then free travel through these systems would be necessary. But so far, that isn’t the case. Should it happen, and I hope it does, securing that free travel deal would be the first thing we’d get onto.”

“I’d rather have the framework thought out now rather than when tensions are going to be high and heads hot.” Libra said, worried about the four percent growing in popularity for that reason. “It would also be applicable should we assign ownership to entire systems within the alliance rather than individual celestial bodies. What are your views on that? I think it is rather redundant when both our forces are going to be policing both our peoples, but I understand that you might view it differently with your traditions.

“You misunderstand our design philosophy then.” Lira answered the minister, “Our fundamental requirement is that all our ships need to be able to focus all firepower forward, but at least 50% to any other direction. In our opinion, their defensive capabilities are good enough, and considering the first line of defense is a node blockade, we seem to have that covered well enough. Albeit, even on defense, we intended to use our good FTL maneuverability to nano jump facing forward to an attacking vessel and open up with full barrage, like the Curious did in Terminus.”

“Since we are already assigning ownership to individual objects, why talk of changing it? We are going into this alliance with the intent to share anyway.” Unsure of how the Fiara would view such invasion of privacy, she did not share the amount of information Narix government kept about people that would in worst cases allow them to forbid specific people or groups from leaving Naris, minimizing the possible damage they could cause directly. She wasn’t even sure if Libra took the possibility of ideologically driven attacks into consideration. “We’ve managed with tensions before, but although I think even the most absent-minded of my comrades realize we cannot alter the way the fifth dimension operates, I agree tempting fate is not good. There is one thing we can do to see how the people would react: The oracles coming to Naris. We can observe the way people treat the news of their arrival, or the Faira directly in any personal interaction, and work from there. If the reactions are negative, we’ve our work cut out for us. If not, all the better.”

“They will be delighted to hear that. Do tell: How [i]was[/i] your general population informed about us? And anything else the team would need to prepare for that might not be usual in our regions of space? They are not trained diplomatic personnel. If it is your wish, they will be comfortable not talking to anyone outside of the military chain of command, but I’d still like to know.” Libra asked.

“Aside from descriptions of what you look like and that it’s not your apparent intent to kill or enslave us? They have been told that you are a race that has come to the stars seeking colonies, much like we have. Since then, Naris was getting regular declassified updates on the progress of our work, such as the treaty, the OEP and the engagements in Terminus.” she looked up an example article on her tablet.

[center][h2]Exploratory fleet under attack: outnumbered Fiara cruiser fended off unknown attackers[/h2]
[h3]”An engagement like any other, crew just looked differently. We kept each other alive and that’s what matters in the end.” -PFCT. C. Linsis, XO of the EC Curious[/h3][/center]

“Given our situation, most people sympathise with the need for a new colony, although they haven’t yet been told why exactly your home can no longer support you. We weren’t sure you’d want this out just yet. When commander Astra told the primarch, he sent a direct message to me so we could make sure on our respective ends it didn’t spread.”

“As for the lack of diplomatic training, that’s a good thing. We need to know how our common people interact with each other. As for any unusual situations, you already know about our careful approach to artificial intelligence and our hatred of religion. If they keep that in a sack, there should be no major problems. Also, one of our major holidays is coming up, so if they happen to see many people with flags painted on their faces, tell them to pay no attention to that. That’ just our way of remembering the fallen of wars long past. If they come to contact with someone directly, say someone they’d be cooperating with for some time, they might be told they can refer to that person by their first name. They don’t have to oblige by it, just tell them it might happen. Also, despite being briefed, some might call them by their name by a slip of the tongue. Mistakes happen. Anything our people should be made aware of before the oracles arrive?”

“We appreciate the effort, but we have chosen full disclosure. You can post that information or any other that you see fit, such as our technological schematics to your shipwrights and the like. As we discussed when setting up the non aggression treaty, the ship we send to your home system will be void of any AI, although I believe now there will be no need to strip it of weapons? If that is not possible, I’d ask the lord commander to temporarily assign one of his small ships to the task, it won’t be longer than a few days.” Libra answered the questions.

“As for what your people should be made aware, should any get within reach, tell them to keep their hands to themselves and especially not mess with any Faira’s antennae, the whole mentioning of homeworlds, supernovas and the like. If anyone wants to pose questions about our military, the Oracles will tell them to go through proper channels anyway.” Libra commented on the issue of possible faux pass. “Although, with the names thing, do mention it is a sign of affection for us, so that they aren’t too surprised if they make that mistake on some more liberal of us.” the admiral smirked.

“No, the ship may stay armed. Also, there will be a Privateer-class frigate waiting for them to act as another pair of eyes and their guide through the system. I made sure they didn’t send the NSS Nova. And touching someone else’s head is a WMD as far as insults are concerned, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” Runa wasn’t sure how not mentioning a homeworld was possible [i]AT[/i] the Narix homeworld, but she would try to get that message across.

“Very well. Back to the Alliance proposal, we would like to discuss the economic side of it. While between countries barter trade might have worked, we are looking at entering into your monetary system, it would be easier than developing one of our own, since the system we used pre-exodus would probably not hold. Would that be acceptable? We will of course submit to any regulations you deem fit so that your own economy is not destabilized. I imagine your private enterprises would be interested in raw materials like everyone else, and possibly our military technology for non-military use, which we would sell licenses to. From our side, the only entity in that trade would be our government. Would that be acceptable?”

“That would work.” Runa nodded, “While our economy should be able to take a hit and stand, we’d rather be on the safe side, I was never good at economy. Not to mention if we don’t have to adapt to accommodate you, we’ll avoid arming the four percent with arguments. So far all they have is xenophobia and fears of what could be, let’s not give them anything solid.”

“This is of course something that shouldn’t be rushed.” Kandros chimed in. “There were some grim moments in establishing our post-unification currency I wouldn’t wish on anyone else. As for the private enterprises, unpredictable little bastards, they are, but tech licenses are going to be a high-prized commodity. But they might also be interested in direct cooperation in developing new technologies and products. Do you think that’s possible, given, say, four to eight years?”

“We would want to enter the market slowly ourselves, since we are not too experienced either. Initially we would likely enter with resources to get some currency to operate with, then perhaps buy in or establish our own company. As for joint research, I do not see it happening in military technologies, those we feel should be government controlled. As for civilian research, perhaps. When we know the Ancients will not slay us all.” Libra noted.

“Do you have any other points to discuss? The finer details we can hammer out after a good rest.” Libra said, massaging her remples.

“That is in the hands of admiral Cygnus, lord-commander Zorea and the men and women under their command now. All good hands, as far as I know.” Nebiros nodded.

“A good rest and a good meal for some of us. Rear admiral Libra, admiral Lira.” Runa stood up, bowing her head. “Farewell for now.”
[hr]
[b][i]Narix National Newscast: Formed from many, now as one?[/i][/b]

Following two days of restless work, Narix and Faira delegates have prepared the bedrock of a solid military alliance. Furthermore, lord-commander Adrihen Zorea took four battlegroups of the First Fleet to meet the Nightmare threat alongside the Vanguard fleet led by admiral Cygnus.

Following the popularity polls, the delegates have also agreed on the basics of a loose union of our two peoples.

[i]“This is not a complete integration. Rather, it is a loose union that will allow both of our species to coexist without unnecessary delays and obstacles in dealing with one another.”[/i]
- Ambassador Runa Taranis, Narix ambassador

The Faira have also hinted at the formation of their own currency. They have expressed the desire to enter our market!

[i]”We would want to enter the market slowly ourselves. As for joint research, I do not see it happening in military technologies, those we feel should be government controlled. As for civilian research, perhaps. When we know the Ancients (Nightmares - journalist’s note) will not slay us all.”[/i]
- Rear admiral Libra, Faira ambassador