[b]Diplomacy![/b]

The Azura diplomat dominates the room. Her presence is the most sustained look that the Aotrs have gotten to an Azura and the physical menace one presents is overwhelming. Vibrant blue scales, striped with black set against pale gold eyes and the violent threat of a coiled spring. This is the confident aspect of an apex predator, and one surrounded by prey animals it might catch at any time. At the same time, there was a strange gentleness to it - its assistant servitors she treated with the affection of pets, and the Aotrs she could not seem to regard as anything other than cute and small, even if she tried diplomatically to keep that sentiment hidden.

There is a concentration of magic around her; her particular Path is related to sensing dishonesty and lies, and she can even taste the flavour of past lies on the aura of her opposing numbers. Her curiosity was, however, dim. She was vaguely interested in Aotrs society but not so much to press if evaded. Aotrs diplomats are able to summarize her position as 'patronizing', which seems to be the Azura's equivalent of friendly - this is an arc that swings to 'dismissive' for things she does not care about, and 'contemptuous' for hostility.

Surprisingly, she expresses a casual willingness to trade technology and magic both. She recognizes that information has value but regards it as a low and mean currency that is almost below her to deal with. She has a vast array of items of interest here, from the Grav-drive to advanced divination, but many of these she considers 'civilian' technologies - widely dispersed enough to not be considered state secrets. She can even organize a tour of a shipyard complex if desired. In her mind the most valuable coin she has is Biomancy - she represents one of the Endless Azure Skies' more successful genetors. These secrets she prices much higher - not out of reach, but representing a keen awareness of value.

What she [i]wants[/i], though, is military force. She admires the Aotrs Gate technology and wants to use it for targeted assassinations and commerce raiding. If the Aotrs will not be mercenaries themselves - a stance that immediately shifts her towards a dismissive posture - she will settle for buying ships or Gate drives. These she actually seems to price fairly - she seems aware of how an Aotrs ship weighs up favourably with the average Azura sphere - but does not seem to place a premium on the idea that the Azura might reverse engineer the ships for their secrets. The idea, when suggested, strikes her as almost a faux pas to bring up, as though it was suggested she might go digging around in garbage.

[Friction roll: 4; no advantage]

She is, however, suspiciously cagey about describing the exact political situation of the Azura. It feels like she would lie here if she thought she could; instead she changes topics abruptly or makes extremely vague statements. She can barely be enticed to confirm information already granted by Boldness. Aotrs negotiators are able to guess that this is not only because, as she suggests, political influence is a uniquely valuable resource to her, but because the political situation does not favour her faction. There is the shape of a weakness here, even if this particular path is a dead end.

[b]Fleet Operations![/b]

As time goes on the Azura fleet drips away strength. More ships are reconfigured into Monitors - huge, slow firing platforms unsuited for deep void operations, acting as low orbit or atmospheric planetary defense strongholds. Others, their cargo holds emptied of fighters and materiel, activate their FTL and leave the system entirely. In a few weeks the Azura fleet will have reduced itself to no longer hold the advantage in the deep void, though their position around Tanshin II will have become entirely entrenched. Even one of the primary battlespheres appears to be preparing for departure.

[Friction roll: 4]

The withdrawal is not happening at a destabilizing pace that would present a military opening, but whatever coalition arrived to assist the Furnace Knight here seems to be discharging their obligations and departing. It is possible reinforcements might start arriving if divination starts to predict a major battle is due but in the short term the Azura are looking to cede the broader system to the Aotrs as they entrench their base.

[b]Tanshin I![/b]

[Friction roll: 6. Aotrs advantage]

A break is finally had with Major Killstorm's assault team. The planetary defense crabs do not even react to their teleportation in, so dedicated are they to their anti-aircraft role. By the time they sluggishly start to reorient their weaponry on the strike team the Aotrs are able to wipe them out with minimal losses and secure the area. The Azura response force, meanwhile, suffers the fate of the original Murders - savaged by anti-aircraft fire from local defense assets on approach. The result is that their ground forces are able to do little more than shadow the assault team at a distance and withdraw if threatened. 

The underground bunker is an ancient research laboratory, part of a network around the planet. It isn't Azura, exactly, but it has certain elements in common with them; a different culture or faction, thousands of years removed. It strangely more relatable than their modern incarnation. This was a time when they were smaller, weaker, more reliant on technology. The wreckage of digital computers can be seen here, too ancient for data recovery, but a sign that they once used such things.

What can be found is fifty stasis tubes. In the eerie shadowed gunk are the shapes of large squid creatures, five meters long and comprised almost entirely of brain tissue. The ancient fragments of warning labels suggest that these are extremely dangerous. Psychic, perhaps? If nothing else, directly biologically related to the battlecrabs outside. One of these labs must have breached at some point in the past and the planet's hostile native creatures are the result.