She didn't pull back before the need for air demanded it and by then she'd forgotten half her arguments.
"I sincerely hope that negotiation tactic only comes into play with me," she said, grinning.
Braen answered with a smirk.
"I assure you, it does. Shall we go?"
Naima sighed, knowing there was no escape from the inevitable. As they headed for the dropship prepared for them to descend to the surface of the Uther planet they’d approached, she hoped it would be a more pleasant ride than the last one she'd taken.#p#分页标题#e#
Only now that they knew of her pregnancy, the Brion healers were able to give her medicine to counter the effects of her condition. Motion sickness, at least, was a problem long solved.
A repaired and restored Alona joined them, along with a unit of Brion guards. Naima knew Braen would never have taken an escort with him when meeting with potential enemies on his own. Brions tended to think having back-up was weakness. The warriors were for her safety, ready to form a living shield around her if needed.
The ride down was smooth and quick to Naima's troubled mind, still trying to figure a way out of the mess they found themselves in.
Braen seemed to believe the situation only had one possible outcome. Naima loved the man, but for all his tactical thinking, the general didn't consider all options. It was in Brion nature to immediately discount all choices that involved retreating.
She, on the other hand, found herself to be a peacemaker, but not only that. Reminding herself that she might have solved the riddle of how to kill a creature that never truly died, Naima hoped there was a way for her to stop the possible bloodshed to come. Considering how impatient Braen was to move forward, it would take some quick actions to keep him from killing a bunch of Uthers to get his point across.
She had no particular love for Uthers, but an open conflict would have been bad for everyone. Brions were trying to mend the wounds of their bloody past. Uthers were bound to suffer great losses at the hands of the galaxy's best fighters.
As for the battle itself, from a cold and critical standpoint, killing took time. The precious commodity they didn't have, the root of all their problems.
The ship landed as gracefully as it had flown and Naima was none the wiser of what the solution to this yet encountered problem could or should be. Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto Nebulos' surface.
Oh.
Her first impression of the Uthers was ruined by the fact that she mistook them for statues. Standing so perfectly still, the hosts didn't move a muscle. Naima understood her mistake only when one of them blinked, signaling that the odd, armored figures before her were, in fact, alive.
No vids or images did the Uthers justice. They were short and stocky, with dark blue skin and very sharp teeth that made their voices hiss. The most noticeable part of them were the armors.
They were gigantic, monumental constructs that were built around the Uthers as they grew. From the moment of their birth, they were enclosed in the armors that were gradually built stronger and more intricate as they aged.
The welcoming party had to be ancient, considering the sheer mass of their armors.
And they don't look very welcoming.
By her side, Braen didn't say anything while their small delegation deployed from the dropship.
Alona came last and the Uthers hissed as one. Their mouth with the sharp teeth opened and closed like they were so shocked they were unable to think of anything to say, reverting to base noises. Finally one of them dredged forward with a lumping walk, the armor creaking and clattering as it walked.
Naima could swear it was glaring, but then again that might have been how the little guy always looked. Like a wrecking ball with a bad attitude and a questionable paint job.
Not the most stealthy people, these, Naima thought, remembering at the same time that Braen had warned her not to take the Uthers for slow, lumbering idiots.
They could move if they needed to, all they required was a bit of momentum and it was almost impossible to stop them.
And they were far from stupid.
"I am Stomech," the Uther rumbled in a broken, wheezing voice. "I will speak for our people. We know you, General Braen. We know Brions. You cross our borders. You come here uninvited. We are not surprised.
“But then! You bring this creature here! What business do you have with the Chali?"
Stomech pointed at Alona, looking at the android like it was a plague walking on earth. Naima sensed a chance and tried to signal Braen, but the general had already noticed.
"You say you know Brions," he replied. "Then I shouldn't have to say I have no business with the Chali. Right now, the traders are trying to destroy the galaxy for their own greed. This android has betrayed them."
The Uther pulled back, a suspicious look in its eyes.
"How can you be sure?" he asked, only his eyes peeking over the edge of the armor, the rest hidden by the huge collar of the metallic case it called both a body and a home. "Maybe it's a spy."
"Don't take me for a fool," Braen replied tersely. "Now answer me. What business do you have with the traders? Our feud with them is long known. You have barely had contact with them."#p#分页标题#e#
Stomech snarled, the armor shaking with rage.
"The Chali are no friends to us," he howled then. "They come through here, attacking without warning. Even Brions give a warning. The android army wipes over us, thieving as it goes. They did not stop. If they come back, we will not let them pass again."
There was such vicious glee in the Uther's voice when he said that. Naima smelled her chance.
"They won't be coming back," she said quickly. "The prize they were after, it turned against them. The Chali are prisoners now, serving the Fearless."
The news gladdened the Uthers visibly. Even his posse seemed to perk up, though you couldn’t tell from the expressions they wore.
"Good," Stomech said. "If it is true, it is good."
Carefully, trying to push the right buttons, Naima went on.
"Would you permit us to pass?" she asked. "We need to get through. The Fearless is a threat to all. If it's not stopped, it will come for you first and I promise you, it will be a thousand times worse than the Chali.
“It will bring the Chali back, stronger than before. If you let us through without trying to stop us, none of them will ever get to Nebulos."
The Uthers considered, speaking in hushed voices. Naima dared to be hopeful. It seemed the Chali were experts at many things, including making enemies everywhere they went. Standing guard over her, Alona hadn't seemed surprised in the slightest.
"You can pass," Stomech said finally, returning to them after having a quick word with his companions. "We do not like this, but we like the Chali less."
"Thank you," Naima said, predicting the words – and diplomacy – didn't come so easily to Braen.
"We are coming with you," Stomech went on.
"Wait-"
"News has come to us. More Chali are on their way from the Xarro section. They come for their own. They want the Fearless too. We let them escape once. Not again. Now, we hunt. We will not stop until they are gone, all gone."
Words failed Naima. It seemed like everything had gone well, badly and utterly shockingly at the same time. From Braen's silence, she guessed the general didn't mind the Uthers waging their own vendetta against the traders, but Naima wasn't so thrilled. While the added numbers and the free passage was great, she realized something at long last.
“Your presence is welcome,” Braen said, breaking his silence once more.
They had started nothing less than a full-out war. And Braen seemed pleased about it.
30
Braen
They were flying with half the armies of Uthers on their tail now.
The whole affair had gone exactly as Braen had predicted. He hadn't said anything to Naima, not wanting to get her hopes up, but the swift movement of the Chali had been a mystery to him before.
There had to be a way how the traders could have reached the Fearless so quickly. Even now, with the Chali fleet approaching them from the other side of the section, they had to have been on their way longer than he had.
The general had been certain that one way or another, Sinetha had cut her way through the Uther territories. He'd been wondering how she did that, considering how little the anti-social species tolerated guests, but he couldn't rule out the possibility Sinetha had achieved her passage with peaceful means. She was, after all, a trader. If anyone would find a way to deal with Uthers, it would be the Chali.
It said plenty about the stocky brutes that Sinetha had apparently failed in that. Or perhaps she didn't have enough patience.
Those were the questions and concerns of the past now. Braen had been prepared to go with the flow, hoping Sinetha had made the impossible negotiations easier for him. As a sign of luck, she had.
In a way, the Uthers were fortunate as well. Braen didn't tell them that, but he suspected that in their hearts, some of the wiser ones had to know – they had suffered the lesser evil. Sinetha's attack upon them may have been unprovoked and vicious, but the traders were nothing compared to a Brion general on a warpath.
If he'd found them to be reluctant, refusing to let him pass, Braen would have showed them what it was to stand in the way of a Brion.
Uthers were proud and stubborn, but they weren't – ultimately – suicidal. And his name did precede him. The general took it as a compliment.