[center][h3]Collab Between [@Raylah] and [@Sep][/h3][/center]
[right][sub]Aboard the Meeting Place station[/sub][/right]

David was nervous, he knew that while officially he was also a representative of the Undefeated, still these important matters should be left to Kelsie. Then again, the first contact with a new nation probably shouldn’t be led by a tired woman with a horrible hangover. He considered going in alone, but then decided to invite Julianna as well. He was sceptical about her at first, like all soldiers he was taught to resent the Rejected, but over the past few months he started to respect the girl, recognizing her brilliant mind. 

They didn’t bring any armed escort along. The war with the Zetans will no doubt have them looking like warmongers, and they didn’t want to strengthen that first impression by meeting the Lorne delegation armed to the teeth. David was wearing the new ceremonial uniform - as was usual for the Undefeated, it was plain black with just simple silver embroidery on one shoulder. No medals or other decorations were necessary. Julianna was wearing a similar set of clothes - dark grey skirt and jacket with a white shirt.

They stopped at a window overlooking the hangar for a moment, watching the new ship dock. “Well, if the rest of their fleet looks like this, we have nothing to worry about from these guys,” David noted.

“Don’t underestimate them, Major,” Julianna shook her head. “Remember the Revenant?”

David laughed. It was hard to forget the ship that first brought them through the Gateway to Sol. “A rusty piece of junk with weapons duct-taped to the hull.”

“Yes, and now we have powerful battleships.”

“Hmm, that is true.” In just six months they managed to build a fleet from nothing. Who knows, maybe these guys can do the same. If they get six months of peace.

They walked towards the ship and watched the airlock open. David’s eyes scanned the woman and sorted her into a ‘not-a-threat’ box, moving to her company - a human in a combat suit and a couple of robots. Their gear and weapons looked about as obsolete as the ship, if not more. They could cause some small problems, but shouldn’t be a match for the Undefeated squads stationed here on the Meeting Place. David walked towards the woman. While not physically imposing, she certainly seemed smart and he was sure she is a skilled politician or diplomat or some of the other people-talkers. That should be fun.

He tried to put his friendly face on. “Welcome,” he smiled. “I am Major David Parker and this is Miss Julianna Petrova and on behalf of the Undefeated, we would like to welcome you to the Meeting Place. This is a neutral station and each nation is welcome to set up an embassy here.”

The drones didn’t move as the airlock opened, the handler however struggled to suppress his instinct to raise his weapon. Without so much as a second thought Mackenzie strode forward and offered her hand to each of the people in turn. “Mackenzie Baum, Human Resources fifth division within the Lorne Administration.” She signalled to the armoured man behind her. “That’s Handler Ran, and well the marines aren’t exciting because they’re just drones.” She feigned a small chuckle.

“It’s an impressive layout, however I feel like there needs to be some slight clarification. We won’t be looking at an embassy, as I don’t represent a nation. I represent a company.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to the major. “Though I suppose we’ve been operating somewhere in between for the past three hundred years.” 

She sighed. “I apologise, where are my manners? Would you care for a tour of our ship? I’ll admit she probably doesn’t look like much, but we retired her and her sister for the better part of two centuries, we only brought them back online recently after the gateway reactivated until we could design and build something new.”

David wasn't exactly sure what Human resources meant. A weird image of a big guy in a long leather apron stuffing human limbs into a freezer kept creeping into his mind. But that's probably not what it was. Hopefully. 

 "If you come as a representative of all the people in your system, then I think the political system doesn't matter. For all intents and purposes, you will most likely be considered a nation by others. I have to say I admire that you didn't need combat ships for two hundred years. Such a long period of peace must have been very beneficial to your people." David wondered what would the Undefeated do if they were in peace for such a long time. Could they even adjust to such change after centuries of wars? What would he do? War was the only thing he was good at, the only thing he knew how to do. Yes, he was also a good pilot, but how many of those do you need in times of peace? Thinking about it, it was kinda sad.

“We would be honored to see your ship, if you want to give us a tour.” Julianna apparently thought that he was quiet for too long and decided to step in before it gets awkward. “I have to ask about something from your message. You said you were looking for heirs to your world? Does that mean you have not settled it?”

“Maybe you have some place on your ship where we could talk? I am sure you yourself have plenty of questions,” David added.

Mackenzie turned around, the drones all stepped to the side in unison, the handler wasn’t quite as much in unison as the rest of them, but he was pretty close. She signalled for the two representatives to follow her. Down various side corridors drones and technicians could be seen still touching up various subsystems. She turned over her shoulder to speak to the representatives. 

“The planet Delta-4 has all the infrastructure and living space ready for colonisation, but no it hasn’t been settled as off yet. Two reasons for that really, the first is that it's part of an existing contract. Secondly, you’ve probably noticed the lower gravity aboard the ship. Our people lived and worked in space long before the gateways. We physically can’t inhabit the planet, all the work needs to be done by drones or with us wearing special exoskeletal suits.”

She continued to point out various areas as they went. Nothing of consequence, drone storage, quarters, munitions storage till eventually they reached a board room. She moved to the side to allow them both to sit, their escort taking up space outside the door. 

As Mackenzie sat she spoke again. “So, I’m assuming by your military designation, and your nations name being the Undefeated that you’ve had a less peaceful time?”

“It is admirable that you are still honoring the contract made three hundred years ago.” David sighed. “And as for your question, unfortunately, yes. Our planet is beautiful but hides a lot of dangers. Ever since our ancestors first landed there three hundred years ago, they had to struggle for survival. Aside from hostile flora and fauna, within the first few weeks after landing, our colony had nearly been decimated by a dangerous fever that spread rapidly among our people. And when the disease finally subsided, we were attacked by the locals - primitive alien tribes, who are incredibly aggressive. Facing extinction, the colonists decided to reorganize the society to a form more suited to face the threat. Hence our military ranks. We have been at war with the natives for the past three hundred years, slowly pushing them out of our territories, but they always keep coming back.

That is the history part. As for now… I wish to say that the renewed contacts between the long-lost colonies have all been friendly and peaceful, but sadly they weren’t.” David paused for a moment. This was the delicate part, the part where he needed to inconspicuously pass them the idea that Zetans are the evil here and the Undefeated and the ECU are the good guys fighting to preserve mankind. But how was he supposed to do that? He was not known for his talking skills. But then again, neither was Kelsie. What a diplomatic party they were.

“During our first contacts with the colonists from Zeta-5, we noticed that they have altered their bodies to a point they can hardly be considered humans anymore. Our allies, the Earth Cultural Union, were especially horrified by that since they fight to preserve the Old Earth's ways in the purest form possible. Such disregard for the human body was seen almost as a sacrilege to them. Their relationships slowly deteriorated and when the Zetans suggested they would like to offer their ‘enhancements’ to the ECU citizens, they were banned from the ECU space.

The problem is that on leaving their embassy on an ECU station, the Zetans kidnapped one of the ECU citizens, bringing him back to their home planet and subjecting him to unknown horrors and torture. They claim that he went willingly, but there is no proof of it. The man was an important scientist and it is obvious that Zetans were after ECU research. When they lost hopes of getting access to it through diplomacy, they decided to take a more straightforward approach.

The ECU launched an attack on Zeta-5 to retrieve their kidnapped citizen, and, as their allies, we supported them. The thought of that innocent man suffering at the hands of those ‘people’ was just not acceptable to us. Currently, the space around Zeta-5 is occupied by our joint forces, and in case they refuse to hand over their hostage, a ground invasion is planned. We are still trying to make use of diplomacy though, to avoid more bloodshed. We even let a neutral party, the Xandalians, join the negotiations, trying our best to resolve the conflict peacefully.” David was proud of how he described the situation without any big apparent lies, just twisting the truth a tiny bit to make them look better. 

Mackenzie clicked her tongue at the mention of an ongoing war. On the bright side war was good for industry, though industrial targets historically were a target. “It is a shame that these, Zetans?” She looked at the Major for clarification. “Decided to resort to such measures resulting in a war.” She shook her head slightly. “We shall do our best to not get involved, as you are probably well aware our people are not the warriors that yours so obviously are. Our expertise comes from industry.”

Mackenzie took out her tablet and gestured towards the screen on the wall. Swiping up on it the planet Delta-4 and all its technical readouts, as well as the information on the Arcadius, the colony ship that was supposed to have seeded life on the planet surface. “While we can’t make use of the planet ourselves, I was wondering if you knew anything about this specific colony ship. It would bear a certain amount of significance to our people if we could fulfil our lives' work, allowing us to move on and do something new.”

David admired the structure around the planet displayed on the screen. These guys must have been exceptional engineers to create something of this size. "Sorry, but it doesn't sound familiar, but we haven't exactly discussed this matter with other nations. Maybe you could use the station's network to send a message to all the representatives gathered here to ask about the ship? But I have to say that the chances are probably slim. Ever since the Gateways reopened, we have met with several civilizations, whose Gateways have closed for unknown reasons soon after opening and we have lost contact with them completely. Plus there must have been a lot of ships who failed to establish a colony at all. The galaxy is a harsh place." 

"What are your plans, if you manage to find your colony ship? You said you were looking for something new, what exactly should that be?" Julianna inquired curiously.  

Mackenzie clicked her tongue again. “Do you know the gravity settings of the station? Just to figure out if we’d be able to spend any length of time aboard. I don’t want to risk the health of any of our employees to look for information that may very well not exist. I’m sure you understand.”

She turned herself to Julianna, flashing a smile as she did so.

“If we manage to find the colony ship we’ll allow them to fulfill the contract, settle on the planet that we can’t use ourselves. We’ve built and maintained everything they need, agriculture, infrastructure, housing, and buildings for business. Our drones maintain it in the absence of people. In terms of future contracts, we’ll see what the various branches of humanity need. We’re accomplished miners and builders, and while I’m sure there are robotics out there more sophisticated than ours, ours are incredibly efficient at what they do.”

She smiled between the two of them. “If I may ask, how many other people are you currently in contact with?”

Julianna thought for a few seconds before answering. "I'm certain we can manage to get you connected to the station's network from your ship, if that is what you need to keep your people safe. Gravity on the station is set to Earth-like levels, but I'm sure that if you wanted to make an addition to the station to create a permanent…
hmmm branch? I think that would be the equivalent of an embassy for a company? Anyway, the gravity can be artificially lowered in part of a station. Just in case you were interested in keeping a presence here in the future.

We are currently in contact with the ECU, the Zetans, Xandalians, Aurigans, the Carpathian Union, and the United Republic of Colombia. Plus, just before you arrived, another unknown ship travelled through the Gateway. I believe they are the representatives of the Grand Republic of Matuvista, but we haven't had direct contact with them yet. The ECU is currently welcoming them to the Station."

"We wish you all the best in finding your colonists," David said with a smile, even though he believed the odds of that happening were astronomically small. "And if you ever look for a new mining project, I believe that we could arrange some agreement. We have a moon with lots of resources, but we lack manpower, technology and experience to fully exploit its potential. So if your leadership would be interested, have them contact us." David wasn't sure he was even authorized to make such deals, but he knew Kelsie spoke about the Donut mining operation to the Grand General and they wanted to expand it. Plus, he wasn't actually making any deals, just expanding their options.

"Julianna is a skilled technician, she can remain on your ship to help you connect to the station's network. If you will allow her, of course," he added, not wanting to sound too commanding. "Is there anything else we can help you with?" 

Mackenzie nodded along. “By all means. I’ll pass on the idea to our acquisitions team who will be in touch to discuss the particulars so that we can arrange some form of contract. Mining a moon shouldn’t be any issue for us. We already have drones down on several of the moons within the Delta System. Once we’ve arranged transport it shouldn’t be too difficult.” 

She smiled at Julianna. “I appreciate your assistance.” Walking over to the door she keyed the pad and it opened. She smiled at the handler. “Please escort the Major off the ship-” She turned with an apologetic smile on her face. “-Purely so you don’t get lost, please forgive us for our lack of decorum. We’re not used to interacting with others quite yet.” 

Turning back to Julianna. “Would you like to come with me?”