“And so we reach the core of the problem.” Brasikha responded. “Outremer is always…alone. You may not cut yourself off completely from the outside, but you still place more barriers than bridges to other nations. When Rothia reached the stars, we found ourselves alone. Of all the civilizations we know of in our little corner of the universe, we were the first to start settling the galaxy. But as we explored, made contact, found others, we sought to connect with them, to understand them, to integrate our civilizations. Your fears do not come from nothing. It is natural for any species to covet power for themselves. Power gives them greater ability to determine their own fate; it is why you are protective of it. But, in our centuries of diplomacy and observation, we have come to understand their desires, their capabilities, their limits. They covet power, like anyone else, but they will not destroy themselves for it.”

With a thought, Brasikha brought forward another hologram, one rather dense with information. It was a representation of the galaxy, marked with both political and unofficial boundaries showing territories, concentrations of ships and other military assets, settled planets, sources of resources, and trade routes. “It is debatable whether any of these factions could even defeat Outremer’s substantial defenses alone. Not without great losses. To challenge both of us together would be impossible for them. In order to make war upon two militaries they cannot defeat would also require taking on ruinous economic sanctions for their actions. And for every nation that agrees to our terms to join our alliance, the consequences of aggression against us becomes even more dire. Beyond that, we may offer incentives for accepting. The Rahn’Saki have never entered into any promise of military aid before, but for this crisis, we have judged the measure to be acceptable.”

For a moment, there was a pause, and what might have even been a shred of satisfaction in the Rothian’s expression. “But the most impactful incentive could come from you. I believe you have an expression for this…’you catch more flies with honey than vinegar’. If you wish to satisfy outside jealousy over the Cradle, we would recommend integrating their scientists into our team as you have for us. Give them a way to learn of the Cradle peacefully and violence will be unnecessary. Laughable, even, for all the risk it would carry for them. Their skills and perspectives may even be useful in this project. They will make technological gains from the concession of partial access, certainly, but not as much as you with full access. You will retain your advantage with the Cradle, while providing a powerful incentive for these other nations to accept our alliance, lest they fall behind their peers.”