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The arrival of the Ranger at Kollari Station was met with a pair of escorting Oshanus frigates and little fanfare, much to the relief of both Trillian and Angelica. Neither was in the mood for such festivities what with Trillian's barely contained stress feeding hers, and her stress feeding his. The trip through the slipstream without the PsyNet had put everyone on edge. The fact that they got lucky and no other entities had bothered them during transit didn't help the overall mood - you only got lucky like that once. Thankfully, as far as the star system's traffic control was aware, it was just another mercenary warship docking at the large station. Kollari Station itself was an ovoid beast, two kilometers long, a kilometer in width and was constructed of bland grey materials with large docking arms tipped with giant hoops extending outward from its body to greet any registered ship, visiting guests or local officials. The Ranger slid into the newly extended docking hoop, the glow of the sublights fading as they settled into an idle. A forcefield shimmered into existence around the destroyer in a protective cocoon before the personnel tube was extended and locked into place against the outer frame of the quarter deck's airlock. The destroyer's crew would have a three-hour moment of respite before they moved on to the seat of power of the Galactic Council: Outreach, which was a one-week slipstream journey from Kollari, located in Sterwil Federation space.

Trillian, clad in his dress uniform - a formal black tunic and trousers with green piping and a hard-beak cap tucked smartly under his left arm - walked casually down the narrow, low-G tube that stretched onwards before him at a downward angle, his stomach a tight knot of paranoia as Angelica followed behind him, brooding up her own personal storm of sour feelings. She obviously didn't want to be there to attend to the closing of a contract that was nothing to do with her, but he had told her that she needed to come no matter her opinions on it, since it would no doubt go well towards presenting her case to the Galactic Council if she could be at least semi-polite to a race that wasn't quite as advanced as her own and prove that she wasn't the tyrant she had been labelled as. Also, he had said, it would be an excellent educational opportunity to experience a totally alien race up close, rather than just read about them. She had then swore at him profusely when he said that he would turn the ship around and take her home if she didn't comply, as if she was a child having a tantrum when she repeatedly questioned his decisions. She had relented, though. She may not have made much progress with winning over the captain and his crew as a whole, but at least she had garnered some modicum of respect from Sonja's Legionnaires during her time off from reading up on the history of the galaxy that she had let pass her and her people by for so many years.

Pregnant and hormonal as she was, she had managed to not only best most of the Legionnaires in arm wrestling, she had done it four at a time without breaking a sweat; one for each arm and one for each wing. The woman had a great deal of physical strength, granted, but when Sonja requested a one-on-one challenge, Angelica had to put a great deal of effort in getting the red dragon's arm to budge and had smiled smugly when Sonja had eventually caved and lost. The arm wrestling and weight lifting had continued on for another hour before they grew bored and filtered away to do their own thing or go about their duty. Sonja had merely stayed put on a weight bench, watching Angelica out of the corner of her eye as she exercised, whilst Angel had openly scrutinized her, her nostrils flaring as if testing the air. Sonja had said nothing, innocently brushing aside Angel's questions about Sonja's heritage and where she came from. She had answered to a point, and then went silent, finally outright telling Angel to mind her own business when she continued to press the issue. It was followed up by a snarl of anger when she had tried to pry into Sonja's tightly closed mind and there she had finally given up and requested that she be escorted back to her quarters.

Sonja's fury with Angel had been present all the way back to her quarters, those they passed by avoiding eye contact and parting before them like water. Angelica's continued obvious confidence was infuriating. Did Angelica really believe herself to be that much better than everyone around her? Or, like Sonja and many other members of the Ranger's crew, was there some secret she was holding on to? Those were questions for later, Sonja and Trillian had decided after their meeting later that night. Being cooped up on a ship left them with little exit plan if they pushed her too far and a fight between Sonja and Angelica left Trillian feeling ill at the very thought. Since they would, in fact be rid of the woman soon enough, Trillian had decided to let things be. For now. He still had a deep sense of unease about her and the trust he had offered her when she had suddenly declared that she wanted her people to rejoin the galaxy had come hard and begrudgingly and most likely, against his better judgement. But he had forced it, hoping that his crew would follow suit and so would she.

That had not happened on either front, and two quiet and amazingly subtle mutiny attempts later, he had already written up his letter of resignation and had sealed it away in both hard copy and digital copy formats to be passed on once the mess was sorted out. He had also had Sonja double-check - with extreme care - to find out whether Angelica had any idea about the mutiny attempts. She truthfully had no idea and had actually gone on a tirade about how any would-be mutineers would immediately find themselves unravelled at an atomic level for being traitors to the Empire. All well and good for the Thymion Empire's law set, Trillian had thought bitterly when Sonja had reported back, but at least his would-be mutineers had a damn good reason for wanting him gone and would stand a fair trial. Trillian cast a look over his shoulder to see that everyone was right behind him, correct and present; he at the front, Angel behind, Sonja and her squad behind her with Lieutenant Commander Karlen Darkwater, the Ranger's head legal officer bringing up the rear. The void elf was absorbed in his datapad, putting the finishing touches to his paperwork that would see them released from the contract, with payment securely stashed away in their accounts.

The squad of Legionnaires wore their full battle armour and were hauling Xanimus along with them without ceremony. He squirmed uncomfortably in his restraining jacket, trying to snap his teeth at the muzzle that caged his snout as he fought desperately to escape. One of the dragons behind him cracked a joke and he howled in anger, kicking out, eyes rolling madly. Then he howled in pain as the offending leg was snapped at the knee as another dragon lashed out at him with her tail to bring him to heel.

''Keep up the pace, people. I want paying so I can go home.'' Sonja growled, her voice made guttural by her helmet's external speaker.

There was a roar of affirmatives at her back and she grinned. Firestorm Squad was feeling nicely rambunctious today, which would please the Oshanu to no end. Xanimus kept up his squirming, swearing and shouting, falling into terrified silence when Angel cast a look over her shoulder and said flatly, ''Don't.'' She turned back around, and straightened her clothes, making sure, for the last time, that she was presentable. She pushed her curly mane from her face and checked that her jewelry was sufficiently sparkling; mortals tended to like that sort of thing.

They stepped out onto the broad docking platform that the tube opened up into to be greeted by a large jellyfish-like creature. Angel eyed it curiously. The images she had seen of these creatures had been bland, to say the least. In reality, it was something else entirely. It was a shimmering, pale blue with a high, arcing crest growing out of its back that glowed a soft, bioluminescent green. A soft, velveteen fuzz, almost like moss coated the 'face' of the creature and its thick, barbed tentacles curled elegantly about it in greeting. Angel was not repulsed, however she was not amused either. Still, the wolfess bit her tongue on any comment about its wildly different appearance and smiled, putting on a calm, collected front as she waited her turn since this was Captain Spears's contract holder.

The tiger glanced at Angelica, hiding his surprise as the normally scowling face of the woman suddenly melted into a seemingly genuine smile of greeting. He immediately became suspicious. Her cloak fluttered as she gave a polite bow of her own, flexing her wings softly in a gesture of polite civility. This was vastly different than what he had expected from her. Since boarding, she had been rude, loud, mocking, overly confident and worst of all her mere presence was enough to scare the PsyNet itself into locking down. That was hard for any being to do. And yet, he was watching her behave like a proper diplomat. The sneaking suspicion that he was going to die soon came creeping back. Sonja merely smirked in the privacy of her helmet, knowing it was all show. On the surface, the woman seemed to be skilled in political games. Sonja wondered just how skilled with these games she really was. Spending so long purposely isolated from other races rarely bode well for anyone when they decided they wanted to rejoin the galaxy all of a sudden. Key elements in behaviour and knowledge were missing, others wildly different. Nothing unusual for anyone who didn't share the same world. It's just that enforced ignorance could - and had - ended civilisations that tried to do what Angelica was now attempting. And that was because a lot of them had simply refused to listen to their advisors.

Trillian looked to Sonja very briefly, wondering what she was thinking. Then he forced his mind back on track and bowed deeply to the Oshanu in greeting. They then stepped to one side and allowed Sonja to step forward. She saluted, her squad going rigid at her back, even as Xanimus squirmed in terror in their grip.

''Well met, Sol'iyar.'' The alien's voice was made monotonous by its translator, but it was obviously pleased as displayed by the slow twisting of its tentacles beneath it. It made a motion with one of the tentacles and two larger Oshanu clad in dark leather armour glided down from the rafters. ''Seize the Lupine_'Kol_ and send him to the Depths for holding.''

The two floated forward without a word and the dragons parted before them, releasing their grip on Xanimus. He dropped to the deck with a whimper, his wild gaze darting about, silently pleading. The two guards wrapped their thick tendrils around him and lifted him from the deck with ease. He cried out as their grip burned him, squirming harder, screaming incoherently as they carried him away. The airlock door sealed shut after their passing and silence descended. Trillian wondered what else Angelica had subjected Xanimus to during his incarceration, then decided he really didn't want to know. She had a habit of going into detail about certain things and he could already feel his mind fraying at the edges under the stress of the situation. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, something made worse when the memory of what had happened the last time he had a mental breakdown came unbidden to the forefront of his mind. He crushed it down with immediate vehemence, dragging his professionalism back into place. Whatever she had done to Xanimus could remain a mystery as far as he was concerned.

''Most pleased. Lupine_'Kol_ Xanimus will be terminated with no trial. He spent his chances. No more. No escape from the Depths. Only termination. Now, Pol'Captain, we attend contract matters and this.'' It said, rotating smoothly on the spot to face Angel. It scrutinized her silently, its intent un-readable. She fought the urge to shift from foot to foot as she became more and more uncomfortable under its gaze. Its thought patterns were off, un-readable and therefore unpredictable. It's mind didn't seem to be following any familiar pattern. She thought about it a moment. It was a conundrum, yet she suddenly realised that she had never before attempted to read a jellyfish. Its neurons weren't all in a neat little, ordered package like a humanoid. They were instead spread out all across its body, encapsulating the creature, effectively making its mind appear to be inside-out, upside-down and back-to-front all at the same time. The more she tried to read it, the more her head hurt.

As introductions were now in order, Trillian spoke up, gesturing to Angel. ''This is Empress Angelica Sean Wolfen of the Thymion Empire. She... insisted on coming along to greet you personally.'' Regardless of the messages and reports he had sent down the line ahead of him to all involved, it was still a massive risk to bring someone who was listed as an aggressor to meet with government and military officials at such short notice. Regardless of Trillian's concoction of simmering moods, Angelica issued a pleased and joyous noise which was almost feral in nature. Trillian resisted the urge to sigh. It was a good display, but he knew better. Sonja was not fooled by Angelica's display, either. She could feel the annoyance coming from the woman as she slowly started to realise that the creature's attention kept straying somewhat to Firestorm Squad.

Before she commented on it, Angelica remembered what Trillian had told her about the Oshanus people's fascination with dragons and swallowed the bitter lump of annoyance that had formed in her throat. She regained her composure, forcing her facade to stay put. This was a trifle as far as Angelica was concerned, something she deemed far beneath her standing in her own society, but she carried on regardless of her own feelings towards them. She reached into the feathers of one of her wings and produced a finely crafted, highly polished box that could be easily held in two hands. Sonja swallowed a sigh of annoyance. She saw Trillian's expression freeze as he saw the box, his amber eyes briefly flickering a soft, golden glow before they settled back to their original hue. He was far from impressed and was struggling to keep his mind straight. His stress was obviously getting to him and worry fluttered briefly in the dragon's chest. They still had a long way to go before they could even set sail for Outreach and for the first time in a long time, Sonja didn't think that Trillian would be able to make it. She accessed her wetware and composed a brief update for Owen and Jashen to go over as she watched Angel present the box.

The morning's routine scan in medibay before they disembarked would have shown if something was there. There had not been anything there, which meant she could produce matter from nothing, or pull it to her from another location. The question now was, was she making a move? She had been warned about this multiple times, that anything un-declared - no matter how small or harmless - could be misconstrued as something else. Sonja watched Trillian tense, his shoulders pulling back a fraction more, his whiskers curling forward and his amber eyes narrowing in suspicion. Force of habit from years of hard military service forced his hand to stray to his blaster at his thigh, for whatever good that would do him.

Angelica took note of Trillian's sudden wariness. She kept her smile frozen on her face even as she saw the fury building up inside him, felt it rolling off him in slow, languorous waves. He felt like an active volcano, churning with the threat of explosion. She ignored him. There was nothing he could do to her, if he attacked, it would simply be like swatting a fly. This was her chance, not his. She had tried to be polite, understanding and respectful since Trillian had sat her down in the wardroom for the first time and had given her a basic education on the worlds beyond the Thymion Void, and had then teetered on the cusp of reading her the Riot Act when she had started to show the slightest boredom with the subjects at hand. Besides that, however, no matter how hard she tried, she found that he and his crew were not so receptive to her displays of courtesy. Understandable, given that not long ago her species had held them captive, but she found it infuriating to a high degree that she was wasting so much energy on trying to instill some kind of trust with them. She thought that maybe they had been burned one too many times and that trust was a thing of the past or a fairy tale notion for the more fortunate in life. Still, she swallowed her pride, taking it in stride. There were other things to attend to that had greater importance to intergalactic matters than what one crew of mercenaries thought of her. At the end of it all, ultimately, they were just a vehicle to put her people back on a good standing with anyone willing to trade with them.

Though they had bitched and moaned, openly expressed their dislike for her and other things, they had listened to their captain and had brought her here, far beyond her own empire. That kind of dedication she could not fault. It was an admirable trait for any crew to have, and whilst they were questioning him every-once-in-a-while now she was aboard, she had the distinct impression that they would follow him to the edge of eternity. With that realisation, she had made a mental note of each of their faces and the names she learned, committing them to memory for something later.

She pulled her thoughts back to the now, and looked expectantly at the alien who simply stared at her outstretched hands and the box she clasped. Both Trillian and Sonja, along with her squad watched with bated breath as she opened the box. And then they released a collective, soft sigh of relief when the contents were revealed to be an ornamental statuette, and nothing more. Angel presented the box and its contents to the Oshanu and the being finally caught on to what was happening, lifting the statue in a few thin tentacles, feeling the weight of it. It was pure gold, encrusted with gems of perfectly cut shapes; it was an exquisite piece, worthy of an art gallery or a museum. The Oshanu seemed to marvel at the craftsmanship of the gift, knowing it was done by skilled hands as it gently, carefully investigated it.

''It is customary on Thymion to present one's new hosts with a gift. I pray that this meets your delight.'' She spoke softly and sweetly. The Oshanu marveled at it, knowing that it must have cost a small fortune to even provide the resources, let alone the time it took for the craftsman to make.

Trillian kept silent as he looked at it, glancing from the statuette to the Oshanu representative. He wanted to know why she hadn't declared it, instead of keeping it hidden and thus risking an incident that would have jeopardized the safety and reputations of them all. Instead, he kept quiet for the time being, not wanting to ruin her act and invoke her anger, and start another argument; this time over a gift from one representative to another, something that was perfectly acceptable. Had her plans been announced before leaving the ship. The Oshanu gently returned the glittering statuette to its cushioned box, sealing it up again. The box disappeared upwards, into the coils of a tentacle, safely tucked against its body.

'We thank you for your gift, Empress Urakess'_Wolfen.'' It said. It turned back to Trillian, leaving her feeling a little nonplussed by the bland reaction. ''We will retire now to the conference room for the finishing of the contract and witness of the termination of Lupine'Kol_, Xanimus. The final report will be submitted and you can return to business.''

It turned away from them and floated towards the airlock. Trillian motioned for the others to follow and they fell in step behind as they were cycled through the airlock into a surprisingly busy thoroughfare. The Oshanu's tentacles twisted again in glee as Firestorm Squad fell into formation, with Trillian, Angel, Darkwater and their client at the head of the fourteen-strong column of armoured muscle. The dragons marched along behind them, their movements perfectly synced with one another, heads held high as their client led the way through the throng of military and government personnel who parted before them to watch their passing. Angel looked around, her brow creasing. They were an odd race and only seemed to be interested in Sonja and her squad. Surprisingly, a spike of jealousy formed in the pit of her stomach, which she ignored by redirecting her attention to her bracelet to continue working on getting her holopad to work with the translator they had provided her. Her tail swished in an agitated manner and she grunted softly. Stalker tech didn't play nice with Thymion crystal tech. Her holopad worked on a frequency that the translator could not, making their pairing almost impossible. The two techs would get close to shaking hands, but then a ream of error codes would pour from both systems and they would reboot.

Trillian glanced at her, noted she was otherwise occupied and decided to enjoy the view instead, letting the floor-to-ceiling aquariums that ran the length of the thoroughfare to their left soothe away some of his stress. Schools of small, colourful fish darted between wavering stands of emerald green and glistening brown weeds, making their homes amongst the tangle of coral. Oshanus was a water world, an odd occurrence, with 98% of it being water, the remaining 2% being solid ice and volcanic rock. The jellyfish, whilst developing the technology to roam around on dry land, still spent the majority of their lives in the water, hence why every vehicle and station they built was 90% aquarium, 10% dry, to allow for their non-aquatic visitors and allies to work with them in relative comfort.

The Oshanu lead them down a lushly furnished hallway that turned off from the main thoroughfare. Large, oval doors lined the walls and it was through one of these that they were lead. Sonja was the only Legionnaire to follow Trillian, Angelica and Darkwater into the conference room, taking her place to Trillian's left whilst Angel settled in at his right. Darkwater handed a water-proof folder to one of the Oshanu guards present in the room, and it, in turn, passed it on to their client. The Oshanu flipped through the folder, flipping through the sheafs of flimsy within with a surprising swiftness. Trillian and Darkwater pressed their thumbs against a small, silvery box that was presented to them by one of the lingering guards, then their client pressed a tentacle tip to the same device. Satisfied, the guard vanished through a portal in the ceiling, silvery box in one tentacle, the folder in another. Nothing more was said or done beyond that. It was all very neat and tidy.

''All seems to be in order.'' It said, ''Please, help yourselves to refreshments and we shall begin momentarily.'' It vanished through an airlock in the corner that had been carefully decorated to blend in with the rest of the room; a pale blue, with rich green accents and fine arcs of silver expertly applied to make the room look as if it had been constructed from marble.

Trillian sat down heavily and helped himself to a large glass of water. Three long gulps and it was gone. The others looked at him with varying degrees of concern.

''Captain, you okay?'' Sonja asked quietly.

''Peachy. Couldn't be better.'' His whispered reply came. ''I don't suppose you have any headache tablets, do you?''

Darkwater rummaged in his tunic pocket and passed a small sachet to him. Trillian ripped open the foil packet and swallowed the liquid contents, grimacing at the sour, chalky taste it left on his tongue. The headache that had been steadily building during the course of the day eased off immediately, but it was still there, present as a gentle thud against his forehead. He gave his thanks to Darkwater and settled deeper into his plush chair, waiting on their client to reappear. Angelica gave Trillian a sidelong look as she settled down into the plush leather. Something about him felt off today and she had been trying to pin it since they had entered the Kollari Sector. He still felt like him, except for the moments when his stress levels peaked sharply and he felt as if he were two people. Almost as if there was a Trillian and something not-quite-Trillian. She dwelled on it a moment until a soft grunt and withering look from him made her reel her mind back in. She had been caught out again. Every time she was in his presence, he always told her off for letting her mind stray into those of the others. It was as if he could tell when she was doing it, yet he couldn't grasp just how difficult it was to keep her immense psychic abilities in check when there were so many secrets to be explored and laid bare, when delving into the minds of others was a perfectly natural thing for her to do. Back on Thymion, her intrinsic gifts had made her an all-consuming power, something to be feared, worshipped and be in awe of. She was respected by all for it and her people beheld her as a god.

Here though, beyond her empire, she was written off as a tyrannical nuisance. She was officially registered as a tyrant. That made her blood boil. What she did, she did to preserve her people and nothing more. Maybe she had taken things a bit too far in her epic rage for what had been done, but still... a nuisance. A tyrant. And worst of all, it was a run-of-the-mill Furred with a decrepit warship who had done everything in his power to bring her down a peg or two, telling her how she should behave out here, when she was one of the greatest powers in existence, laying down the law to her even after he had been caught trespassing. She cast another curious look at him again, her gaze sliding to Sonja. Run-of-the-mill my ass. She thought angrily. The pair of them were hiding something, she knew it. It was a rare few that could shut her out of their minds so easily. And the longer she stayed in such close proximity to them, the surer she became of something being amiss about them. They weren't exactly who - and possibly what - they said they were.

''I hope you have your speech ready, Your Grace.'' Trillian said, his words slicing through her thoughts. ''It's your turn now.''

''I thought you had papers to sign?'' Angelica asked, bewildered. Generally contracts ended with a lot of paperwork being signed and handed off. None of that had happened, except for the void elf sitting beside her handing a chunky folder to one of the aliens and genetic prints being taken.

''All done. Just had confirmation of payment. We're now waiting on you.'' Darkwater said, once again tapping away on his datapad. He slid the tip of a slender finger across its surface in a flicking motion. He then put the device into stand-by and tucked it away into a pocket again. He stood up and nodded to Trillian, ''Captain, my business here is concluded. It's not required that I stay as witness to this next part, so if I may...?''

''Go about your business, Mister Darkwater. If I have need of your expertise, I'll let you know.'' Trillian replied.

The elf saluted and left the room. At the far end, the blank wall flickered, the holographic disguise breaking apart to reveal the face of a large tank. Inside, was their client, surrounded by a bank of coral-like computer monitors. It snagged a colourful fish that had darted out from a small hole in the rocky floor, coiling a tentacle around it, holding it in place. The fish started to slowly wither before their eyes, it's colourful array of golds, pinks and purples fading as it was slowly absorbed.

''Would you care for some food?'' It asked, its monotonous voice issuing forth from a hidden speaker in the tank's frame. They declined politely, stating that they would get something later once they were aboard the Ranger as they still had perishables to get through. ''Very well, Pol'_Captain. Lupine'Kol_ Xanimus is ready for termination. Witness if you would.''

The front of its tank flickered again, the holographic images of a darkened chamber lit by a soft, green glow from below being displayed. More lights came on and the image brightened revealing the chamber to be underwater with no features except for a heavy, rusting chain cutting down the middle of the image. They watched in silence as the chain moved, being pulled downwards with a dull clanking. A storm of bubbles erupted as a squirming figure was pulled into view. It was Xanimus; he was naked save for the cloth-like rebreather and the sturdy cuffs that held him fast to the thick chain by his wrists. He kicked his legs, thrashing about in the water, twisting this way and that as he tried to escape. Trillian wanted to close his eyes. He knew exactly what was coming and he had already had enough horrors to last him multiple lifetimes burned into his memory. Angelica watched on, curious and fascinated.

''Will he be drowned?'' She asked quietly, her wide eyes never leaving the vid feed.

''No. That would be too kind.'' Trillian replied blandly, keeping his eyes fixed on the flailing convict. It was a long time coming and the footage would be copied and sent to the numerous authorities who had at one point managed to capture Xanimus, only for him to escape their grasp. It would be proof for them, that he was finally dead and no longer a problem.

A swarm of flashing black bodies, sleek and torpedo shaped, surged into the scene from the darkness. Trillian heard Angelica's soft, horrified gasp as she realised what his execution was to be.

''Obsidian reef sharks. If it's got meat on it, they'll eat it. They make piranha look soft and cuddly.'' He said softly.

They watched in silence as the sharks circle Xanimus curiously, sizing him up. He kicked out at one and it snapped at his foot. He writhed on the chain, a ribbon of red flowing freely from his foot. And then he disappeared in a writhing mass of shining black bodies, a fury of bubbles and as quick as the sharks had moved in for the kill, they parted, gliding gracefully through the cloud of red. They vanished back into the darkness of the chamber, leaving behind nothing except for a set of thick handcuffs bolted firmly to the rusting chain. The scene flickered, cleared and the Oshanu's aquarium was free of the horror.

''Lupine_'Kol_ Xanimus is terminated. Agreed?'' It said.

''Agreed. Lupine_'Kol_ Xanimus has been terminated.'' Trillian and Sonja said in unison.

Angelica felt the compulsion to parrot their words. The Oshanu seemed satisfied. It's attention then turned to her, its four front tentacles twining together, thoughtful. ''You wish to propose trade between Oshanus and Thymion? You must state your cause first, _Urakess'_Wolfen. And it must be good, as news of the Ranger's troubles traveled fast and we and many others have watched you over the years.''

Angelica blinked the swarming sharks from her vision and stared at the creature, her mouth not quite hanging open, but almost there. She schooled her thoughts, rearranged them and started telling them about Thymion's history, starting with the reason for her mother's demise and working her way onward, through the horrors she had witnessed and how she had destroyed those stars. Trillian had heard it all before - multiple times, so he leaned back in his chair and listened with half an ear as she told the Oshanu her reasons for doing what she had done and explaining why she wanted to open up trade between her empire and those beyond. She mentioned that one day she hoped that her people could colonise new planets, once the Thymion Empire's standing was on more stable ground and her people had become more accustomed to outsiders. The Oshanu seemed irked by the thought of Thymion expanding, but it remained quiet, allowing her to continue.

It took an hour and a half, yet, surprisingly she seemed to have convinced them that there was a prospect for trade between their peoples. The Oshanus Star Kingdom desired more materials to build dry-constructs with, something they sorely lacked on their aquatic worlds, and Thymion could make use of what the Oshanu people could offer them in the way aquaforming, deep sea apparatus and volcanic vent caps. Trillian continued to listen in with half an ear; he knew what she was doing. She was attempting to set up a voice to defend her at her own trial. A smart move, but it would do her no good with just this one species. She had hundreds more to contend with and, the further out she went, that number would go into the thousands. The Oshanus Star Kingdom wasn't exactly a big player in the grand scheme of things. They were still young, when it came to space faring species, only having been in the stars for just over a hundred years, and thus hadn't had the years to cultivate the kind of political or military clout in the galaxy that many others had.

Even with the Oshanus Star Kingdom on her side, her species would still be labeled as violent and her Empire would be marked as a No-Go Zone forever if the Galactic Council decreed it. She would have no chance at expanding beyond the Thymion Void outside of starting a land grabbing war with neighbouring systems, as the Galactic Council and its members enforced such rulings with vehemence and totality. And even with her fleet and her powers, she would still lose. The Synthenoid Empire were more than a match for her. And there were at least two other empires that could ruin her. He had warned her as such, but had also explained to her that if she could foster a genuine friendship with the Oshanu people, then Thymion would have an ally that would be nigh-unshakable. They were a fiercely loyal species and they held honour in high regard and Angelica would do well to remember that if she wished to retain a stepping stone into the galaxy or risk eventual extinction either at their own hands or at someone else's.

I highly doubt that would happen, Trillian. If I can collapse stars, what are a few fleets to me and my people? Her voice spoke in his mind.

Exhausted, stressed out and bored, Trillian had let his mind wander, skimming the surface of old memories, his mental barriers slipping. When she had butted in, anger flashed through him and his mind clamped shut, forcing her back out again. He turned only his eyes, his jaw set, ears canted irritably. She was still conversing with the Jellyfish. His eyes shot to Sonja and she looked at him with a withering expression, her crest flattened against her head in distaste. After all this time and repeated reminders and warnings, she still hadn't taken it on board that she couldn't just waltz through people's minds on a whim. They had both heard her in their heads and they all knew how easily she could breach their mental barriers, smashing through their carefully cultivated defenses in seconds, destroying years of perfected mental barriers. He wondered if the PsyNet would ever come back online of its own accord or if the Ranger would find itself hauled off to scrap in shame without it. To add insult to injury, Jashen had messaged him early that morning to let him know they were down a War Witch. Ushan had had to be bought passage on one of the docked Oshanus medical ships to be taken home as a medical emergency. The Ishinn sorcerer simply wasn't recovering and things were looking worse for him by the day.

''A few fleets? A single Tenglaari task force could easily make your fleet sweat. The Bressis have an all-consuming psychic ability like yourself and the weapons to match, and the Synths...'' His harsh, whispered reply trailed off, his mind not wanting to confront whatever it was he was going to say. They were so close, the equivalent of a stone's throw away from Outreach... his fists clenched tightly on the polished surface of the ceramic table and he sucked down a steadying breath, closing his eyes and releasing it slowly as he methodically flexed his fingers. ''Just get on with your speech and stay the fuck out of my mind.'' He finished with a low, gutteral snarl.

The Oshanu glanced at him, catching the tail end of his whispered outburst. Angelica flicked one of her ears in annoyance. His outburst could have just cost her everything, yet deep down, she realised she deserved it. She had been told repeatedly to stay out of people's minds, yet she had broken that rule many, many times since boarding the Ranger. It was all out of reflex, a need to know what people were thinking and what they were planning. Excuses, no matter how embedded in fact they were, could only go so far for some people.

''My apologies. Captain Spears was just dispensing some worldly advice.'' She smiled warmly, her attention returning to the Oshanu who floated expectantly in its tank.

~~~~~~~~~~

When the meeting had finally concluded, they made their way back to the Ranger in silence, under guidance from a pair of escorting Oshanu guards. Angelica had turned back to her holopad, still trying to get it to sync up with the translator, swearing softly when both systems entered a forced reboot once more. Sonja brought up the rear, her squad trailing behind her. Their comm chatter was now non-existent, the squad channel devoid of the usual banter and terrible jokes. The thirteen dragons could feel the tension between their C.Os and the Empress, and they felt more tightly wound than usual. Trillian's shoulders sagged a fraction when they approached the entrance to the boarding tunnel, its outer airlock door rolling open to grant them access. Whilst the Ranger was always a comforting sight to behold, this time round it felt like a brooding mass, swallowing what positivity and good will it could. 249 personnel remaining, plus one. The journey to Outreach was looking to be longer than anticipated and they dreaded how the Sterwil Federation, teetering on the trailing edge of a massive war, would react to someone so hostile.