“Hmm. No, no that won’t do at all.” The Director-General smiled. The blue points of light in his eyes all cycled one position anti-clockwise. “Some of my counterparts might ask for access to your antimatter infrastructure, or something like that, in return. But I know you won’t entertain that possibility, because your technology means to you what the Cradle means to me. I was negotiating with an open mind, but it seems you aren’t ready to be serious with us. For that reason, this meeting is over. Come on, everyone.” The Director-General stood up, expertly scooping his jacket off the back of his chair and putting it back on.

The Under-Secretary, who had sat slightly open-mouthed as the Director-General played a weak hand with magnetic energy, decided to throw his weight behind the maneuver. As he stood up with the rest of the human delegation, he addressed the Ambassador directly. “Thank you for your time, Ambassador Taranik. Would you please inform the Zuraxi’Synkuur corporation to expect a full audit of its operations, in line with the Outremer Espionage Act, and to update its clients? We’ll need to ask all employees and consultants to provide a complete previous employment history. If you have any questions, please just let my office know."

Freyr got up hesitantly from her chair. [i]”What is happening?”[/i] She sent to Masgard. [i]”I’ll explain later.”[/i] He sent back, putting his jacket back on. He came over, smiling encouragingly, and put a hand on her back to softly guide her toward the door along with Dr Uchida and Dr Kamau.