The space surrounding the Gateway in the Kamenyan system was occupied by a cloud of dormant torpedoes, waiting to be activated by the Navy’s high command. Beyond this improvised minefield, a cordon of starships and patrol crafts constantly combed the area while small civilian crafts owned by news companies lurked just outside of the exclusion zone, their high-power cameras pointed at the Gate in the hope of catching a glimpse of anything that might be coming through.

When the foreign ship emerged, broadcasting its message into the void, it was swiftly relayed to Kamenymir where the media immediately interrupted their regular schedules to display the pixelated images of the Chosen ship, as they called themselves, along with the message. While news corporations made record viewer numbers, the Directorate sent a dry, professional reply. “Unknown ship, you are in Kamenyan space. Please maintain your current position, advancing further will be considered trespassing. A representative will come aboard soon.”

The Chosen’s crew stopped immediately as they passed through the Gateway. The ship’s sensors picked up unidentified starships and a planet that was very much inhabited. As soon as the message came through from the Kamenyans, William gave his own orders to his crew. No insignias, no threatening postures, the representative will be guided into a blank meeting room and no guard will be in said room.

In comparison to the crews of the other members of the Fist, William’s crew was the most different of them all. Theirs [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d4/03/27/d4032793a0e2bdfee1b16483f0587309--black-templars-warhammer-.jpg]armor[/url] was black, heads covered by helmets with only the flag of the Chosen drawn on their shoulders. While the other members of the Fist would crew their ships with Templars and Clerics from their own branches, most of William’s crew was hand-picked by William himself from members of the Church from all branches of it making it a jack-of-all-trades type. 

“Greetings Kamenyan people once more, please feel free to board us. We aren’t looking for trouble. If you wish to fight, we can schedule one later on but for now, let’s talk.” sent William to the closest Kamenyan ships, his tone friendly. 

After a few minutes, a reply came through. “We are sending a shuttle with an envoy on board, it should reach your ship in 60 minutes.” Indeed, Anton Kroll just arrived on the orbital port above Novyras and embarked on a small skiff, determined to meet the intruders in person despite the misgivings of his advisors. Eventually, he exited the airlock and set foot on the Chosen ship. He wore his usual black suit with a red tie and white shirt, echoing the colors of the KDD on the pin he had on his jacket, bearing the triangular emblem. Kroll was short for a Kamenyan, standing at only 191 cm. He had grey hair and typical purple eyes along with the distinctive strong musculature innate to all Kamenyans. His posture and attitude were neutral and calculated, an image that he carefully maintained as befitting of his position.

Templars stood at full attention as Kroll got out of the airlock, with a quick salute at the short man in front of them they quickly guided him to the designated meeting room. It was a white room with nothing distinctive on the walls, a table and two chairs in the middle. 

William was dressed in a full black suit covering every part of his body besides his face and hands, his back was turned towards the entrance and was pacing around the room running scenarios and lines to say when Kroll was led into the room. 

He turned quickly towards him, his back straight letting his imposing physique and height that was around 2.4m show. 

“Welcome to my ship. I am William James Grant, High Hierarch of the Chosen. “ said Willam, voice calm with a smile on his face as he extended a hand towards Kroll. 

“Anton Kroll,” the Kamenyan replied as he took the extended hand with a firm shake. “Director-General of the Kamenyan Defense Directorate. We have been expecting a visit from other colonies for some time, please forgive the lack of welcoming decorum. We’re simply being careful.” As he spoke, he noted the height of the Hierarch, who stood taller than even the tallest people on Kamenymir. A kind of genetic manipulation, or physical enhancement perhaps? He tried to not pay it much mind, as disconcerting as it was.

“Director-General. An honor to meet you. If I am not mistaken, your title denotes a high position in your nation’s hierarchy. I’m glad we can meet on the same…level from that point of view. 

I fully understand the lack of decorum, we too in the Chosen have mobilized our fleet and placed defenses in front of our Gateway. You never know who’s out there and what their intentions are. But, where are my manners? Please take a seat, someone will bring us refreshments that you shouldn’t die from.” as he said the last bit, William realized what he said and how it could be interpreted.

"Apologies, what I mean by that is that RADX-001, our home planet, is extremely hostile to humans. Toxic atmosphere, poisonous water and all sorts of unpleasant ways to die. My people will bring over some refreshments that were prepared specifically for humans.” 

Soon after William finished talking, a priest came into the room, dressed in a long black robe. With a short nod to William and Kroll, the priest put on the table a tray with different types of meats and vegetables and two cups of liquid that resembled coffee.

Kroll nodded, taking one of the cups in hand. “I have the honor of representing the leadership of the Directorate. My duty is to oversee all Directorate decisions and arbitrate between the Departments that compose our government.” He took a sip of the steaming black liquid. The taste wasn’t offensive, at least.

“You said that you had these refreshments prepared for humans. As if you are not.” His bright purple eyes carefully studied William. “Is that the case?”

Multiple departments of the government would mean a democracy and by the number of ships and weapons they had in space, a well-protected democracy. William nodded silently to himself. 

“I hope the drink is good. We don’t have coffee plants on our planet and we made those artificially to resemble it as much as possible. Now–” William took a deep breath and continued “--that’s debatable. The Chosen [i] were [/i] human after Earthfall but our leader, the great geneticist Doctor Ashevelen changed our DNA to allow us to survive on our new planet. You could say we’re enhanced humans but the term that we use is Chosen. So, we are and we aren’t humans at the same time. For example…” he let the sentence drop as he lifted his right hand in the air. His fingers started to change, uniting themselves into a sharp tip akin to a knife then changed back to their normal form.

“Humans cannot do that, if I’m not mistaken but some of us do." William’s move was as calculated as it could be. It would either prompt Kroll to show his own enhancements, whatever kind they were or gross him out. At the same time, it showed that the Chosen weren't someone to be trifled with.

The Director-General stared at William’s hand, shock visible on his face for a few seconds of disbelief. “That is…” Eerie? Monstrous? Horrifying? “...remarkable.” Kroll did his best to regain his composure, setting the cup of coffee down on the table. Just how far did the other colonies fall from the proverbial tree?

Anton Kroll chastised and forced himself to calm down. Enough gawking. “Remarkable indeed. This Doctor Ashevelen must have been truly exceptional in her field…” Wait. What did this ‘Chosen’ say earlier? “You mentioned that this Doctor is your leader. After three hundred years?”

William studied Kroll’s face for a reaction to his parlor trick. “Pardon my transformation if it startled you. Most of the Chosen cannot do this, my body was enhanced when I joined the military to better suit my role at the time. We’ve cured most diseases known to humans and there aren’t many injuries we can’t heal.” William’s voice was friendly with a genuine smile on his face, even his eyes shined with it.

He nodded a few times at Kroll’s compliment to Ashevelen’s skill. It was true, herself and one or two more could count themselves in the same area as Einstein, Edison, Tesla and Hawkins for their skills. Even before Earthfall, Ashevelen received praise after praise and the only person that could match her in her field was her sister. 

“Indeed. She’s still alive and well. While we haven’t found a way to fully stop the aging process, we did manage to slow it down considerably. For example, I am 112 years old myself but I don’t look a day older than 30. In about 100 years my body will start to degrade to the point where I could be called old from a medical point of view.

On that point, we are more than happy to share with your nation as a sign of goodwill something beneficial.”

As soon as William stopped talking, another priest came into the room holding a tray with three vials and put it on the table. Each of the vials was filled with a pleasantly looking blue liquid and if one would open and smell the liquid they’d find that it smelled like blueberries.

“This–” started William as he took one of the vials in his hand “--is medicine. It will cure mostly any disease as long as it ain’t fatal or genetic in nature. You can either drink it or administer it via an IV which will act faster. Got to be used fully otherwise it will not work.” as he finished the sentence, William put the vial back on the tray and pushed it towards Kroll. 

“Feel free to take them, get them to your labs or try it on a volunteer. Up to you.”

A sign of goodwill, then? It seemed that the Chosen wished to appear friendly, at the very least. But this scarcely answered the Kamenyan’s questions. He leaned back on his chair, an indefinable expression on his face as he glanced down at the vials, then back at the man twice his age who looked half. Was that even the truth? The way he reshaped his fingers was real, anyway.

“Thank you for the gift.” A few seconds passed. “High Hierarch, you evidently hold a position of power with your people. I ask you frankly: what are your intentions? Your goal here certainly goes beyond giving us three bottles of medicine. Forgive me if I sound rude, but I must know what it is the ‘Chosen’ want with us.”

"You are most welcome. Just one more thing to add about it before I answer that. Don't try to tamper with it. The formula is in a delicate balance, any type of tampering will make it unstable. That and we've got our own ways to secure our technology from potential thieves. " As William said unstable, he mimicked with his hands an explosion, his face still having his very friendly smile. 

"Don't worry about sounding rude. Pretty sure you weren't expecting your day to go about like this. The vials are a sign of goodwill from my nation to yours and nothing more. We don't wish for anything in exchange. 

My coming here has four purposes–" he lifted a finger up as he enumerated them"--one: to determine if others survived Earthfall. Two: if others survived, if they pose a threat for the Chosen. Three: if they pose a threat, should they be pacified before they can attack us…and four: if they are peaceful, can we establish trade with them?

The Chosen care deeply about knowledge, as you might’ve noticed. Technological advances that the Chosen have made can be shared in exchange for different ones from other nations in the hopes that at the end of the deal, both parties leave smarter than they were before. " 

Kroll’s eyes narrowed. “We are a peaceful people, but we are not harmless. I hope, for the sake of your people and mine, that the answer to your third purpose is negative. As for trade, we are willing to exchange goods and services. Technology, however, requires more thought and consideration.” He joined his hands on the table.

“After we learn more about each other and come to understand one another’s culture and motives better, technology exchanges may be on the table. But for now… Let’s say I do not trust you yet. And by extension, neither does the Kamenyan people. Meaning no offense.”

William clapped his hands and stood up, soon after a priest entered the room with a bottle of alcohol, putting in on the table two glasses were produced and filled with the alcohol that looked very much as old Earth wine.

"This, Director, is the finest alcohol that I've got on the ship. Please, have just a sip. " William then followed through and took a few sips of his own.

"I didn't mean to alarm or threaten you. If you would've been a threat, I would've simply poisoned the air in this room or any other number of ways to kill you and then I would've made my escape by the time your people would've figured out what happened. So, don't worry. You haven't attacked us and we aren't looking to fight with anyone that doesn't initiate it. 

I understand the caution though. If your people allow it, when I get back home, we shall send our traders to negotiate deals. I'm sure your planet has a big number of plants, fauna, minerals and so on that we don't have. "

William paced around the room for a few seconds and nodded then turned around to Kroll.

"There is one more thing you should be aware of. The Chosen are…pelicular in our ways. Our leader, Doctor Ashevelen, is viewed by most as Goddess and revered as one. It's a view, herself and a few others, myself included…do not share. It was a necessary decision that was taken in the early days after Earthfall. A decision which if revoked now would cause the death of untold millions. Mostly all civilians. 

We don't expect you to refer to herself as a Goddess but some of our people might be a bit more zealous. I only ask your people not to dissuade ours from their beliefs. A plan is in place for the dissolution of the [i]Church[/i] of the Chosen and the return of true democracy. Bloodshed is something that Doctor Ashevelen wishes to avoid at any cost. " 

William took a deep breath, studying Kroll’s reaction and then added "Will that be a problem? I fully understand that it isn't something…easy to accept."

This time, Anton Kroll could not hide a disgusted scowl as he processed the information. By what right does one masquerade as a god to rule over their peers? This revelation was anathema to the very being of the KDD and all human dignity! That this so-called Doctor had the gall to act in such a revolting way was too much for Kroll to maintain his neutral expression.

“[i]Predatelskiy…[/i]” he uttered with a clenched jaw, practically growling with anger. “This… is unacceptable. We Directors live and die by the will of the Kamenyan people, as the Constitution commands thanks to the selflessness of the Founders. To think that this Ashevelen [i]dares[/i] to trick her own people in such a shameful way, and what’s more, to remain in her position for three hundred years!” Kroll was raising his voice as he spoke, almost shouting and getting up from his chair with fury. “On Kamenymir, she would be condemned to death for such a crime, and rightfully so.”

He exhaled a few times, readjusting his red tie. He calmed down somewhat, but his face bore a hardness that it did not before. “You may send your traders, ‘Chosen’. But as long as Ashevelen remains in any position of power or influence over your people, that will be the extent of our relationship.”

William noticed Kroll’s anger and for a brief moment his eyes turned fully black and under his smile, razor-sharp teeth could be seen. With a strong, sharp voice, he uttered the words "Calm. Down. Doctor Ashevelen doesn't deceive her people because she wants that. The people chose it themselves and continued to choose her for the past 270 years. She never publicly admitted to being a Goddess. Not has she [b] ever [/b] abused her power. She only played the cards that were given and led our nation to prosperity. I have no knowledge of your nation's struggles but understand this. Our planet was hell for humanity. She did what she had to and now…no one starves, no one dies of curable diseases. No one lives on the streets. We don't have the word poor in our language. There isn't such a thing as death to the elements lest someone decides to die on their own terms. Education for all. Houses. You name it and the Chosen have it." William took a deep breath and his eyes turned normal again, his sharp teeth as well.

"You are free to believe whatever you wish but do not disrespect the Doctor for she saw the death of thousands and she made it stop. For all she knew, humanity would've been extinct if she didn't sacrifice as much as she did and if you don't believe me, you're welcome to visit our planet. See for yourself the monuments of the dead. See for yourself the pain and suffering that the Chosen went through until she stepped up.  

Our chosen leaders from before? They made harems for themselves. They had [i] slaves [/i]. The Doctor ended them not because it brought her pleasure but because there was no other choice. It was either that or extinction. So, I ask again. Don't. Ever. Disrespect. Her. For she isn't a leader because she sought power but because there was no other choice. If she could leave the Chosen and live peacefully, she would but she's forced to stay. You shouldn't judge us by our leader but by our experiences." His voice calmed down and the smile from before came again.

"Do you understand now?" 

“Oh, I do.” Kroll straightened up, looking the man half a meter taller than him in the eyes. “And I need you to understand that I have no patience for an impostor’s excuses while she keeps her people in a gilded cage. No amount of wealth or comfort is a substitute for freedom. This conversation is over.” The Director-General of the KDD stepped back. “Now, you can kill me for my blasphemy, perhaps bite my throat off with those teeth of yours, and in doing so sign your own death warrant. I am a soldier, another will take my place. That is how we endure on the World of Stone.” He turned around and added, “You should do well to understand that as well,” before walking away, leaving the medicine vials and a half-full cup of lukewarm coffee on the table.