As the Anomaly Fleet prepared to move out, the rest of the species were finally getting into the swing of things, and some of the deployments began to change in mid-travel.
What they had learned from the Morphos and the Terminus fleet was that the numbers didn't matter as much as the way that you worked together. Sure, they were planning to overwhelm the enemy with numbers, but they also needed a complementary partner, and not just one that they were on good political terms with, so that their assault didn't have any weaknesses.
They were also beginning to adjust their response locations to those strengths.
Those who could deal with large numbers the most easily were heading for where the Myceloids and Klem were gathered, and those with the most brutal of single-target weaponry headed for the Cathedral Ships and the other alien attack fleets.
Max was watching the phenomenon as they waited for the Morphos representative to arrive when suddenly, there were more minds within range of his abilities.
An Arisen attack group was in the other layer, right near him, and their amusement that it had taken someone literally showing them exactly what to do before they finally got it was greatly amusing to the Arisen Commanders.
Max focused on the minds in the other layer and tried to send them a mental message the way that he would the Illithid.
[It's not their fault they're all stupid. But at least they're learning.] He tried to convey.
He could sense the Commanders laughing at his remark, but none of them directly acknowledged his words.
The Morphos seemed completely oblivious to the arrival of the new vessel in the system, so Max assumed that their sensors could not detect the Arisen fleet. There was no time to be trying to revamp allied vessels at this point, so he would have to keep an extra close eye on attackers who were trying to take them by surprise since their teammates couldn't.
The negotiation shuttle contained only four people, all with shiny black exoskeletons and elongated heads with bright silver eyes over matching metallic teeth and no lips on their mouths.
The effect was that of a deadly predator, but they weren't hostile at the moment, and Max already knew that most species viewed the humans as terrifying, so he wasn't going to judge the Morphos on appearances.
"Greetings Envoy. I am Commander Keres Max of the Terminus Trading Company." Max greeted the group as they exited their shuttle in the cargo bay of his Cutter.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Commander. I am Planetary Governor Queen of the Morphos people. Before we begin, might I ask a question? You introduce yourself as the leader of a trading company, which in my language means you are merchants or deliver goods, not that you are soldiers. Could you clarify for me?" She requested.
"Certainly, Governor. The primary purpose and financing source for our endeavours is the trade and development of goods between multiple species in our home region. We only agreed to join the battle because it is viewed as an important threat mitigation effort by our species. We are not primarily soldiers, though we do have and develop a large amount of military equipment." Max explained.
"So you are interstellar arms dealers who also develop household goods? What an interesting species you have. So many that we meet are hyper-focused on one aspect in order to gain an advantage, but it seems that humanity excels in many areas."
Max nodded, and Nico gave the alien Envoy a thumbs-up gesture. "That versatility has been key to our survival in the past. I don't think that we could separate it from our species at this point. Even groups that specialize in one product are full of members who are investigating other developments.
There are other species like us in the universe, but as far as we know, we are among the best suited to combat. One of the species like us is the Innu, whose fleet is with the Anomaly Fleet right now and will be travelling with the Koleska to answer distress calls as support staff."
"I look forward to learning more about your species and their neighbours in the future. But we have received a distress call from one of our closer allies, and we would like to proceed there, as it is near this system.
The enemy is a fleet of Cathedral Ships, as I'm informed your species calls them. It is smaller than this one by a large margin, but they have brought a number of the energy beings to the surface of the planet already, so it is going to be a brutal fight from the start." The Governor suggested.
"Alright, let's take a seat in the meeting room, and we can go over the deployment and strategy for the attack. One intervention is as good as another when everything is under threat, so I see no reason not to help your friends." Max agreed.
That was largely why he had suggested that they come here to discuss the issue. They had a long history in the region, and their homeworlds weren't that far from the Rift, so they would surely know more about the species that were calling for rescue and if there were a few whose culture really wasn't worth saving.
It was callous, but some of these colonies weren't really of any benefit to anyone, much less their neighbours. It was more important to prioritize the ones who had a history of cooperation or contribution and save them first.
"Alright. This is what we are thinking. Do your unmanned fighters have life support capability? We would like to send a small team to ambush the enemy on the surface while the majority of the force fights in orbit.
We can do a lot of damage if we can enter the atmosphere undetected, and from there, I think that we can retake some of the key military installations and return them to local control to make retaking the planet easier." The Governor explained as she brought out a display with her rough sketch of an attack plan on it.
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