I bounce my hands up and down as they are clasped behind my back. I keep my eyes on the screens in front of me as well as my vision being filled with every bit of data I can't fit on the screens. In the past, this state of being would cause a pretty severe migraine, but I have gotten used to it over the years. The dangers of neural cybernetics are largely based on how long you've practiced and gotten used to them. People who try to go full throttle on their first one are usually left either schizophrenic, very depressed, or paranoid. Basically it's a fast track to mental illness. I'm not a doctor so I don't know how it works, but something with overwhelming the senses resulting in some kind of brain damage and chemical imbalances I guess.

Nothing of note happens for a while. Watching the vitals of those sent to the planet below reveals only momentarily increased vitals, but the medical AI and the medical officer both tell me those increased vitals are consistent with nervousness. That makes sense and after a time they seemingly calm down and I consider that good enough to be considered a non-issue for now.

Hours pass with shallow breaths. The bridge crew joke amongst themselves with hollow laughs. This behavior is usually only seen during the FTL journeys to a hot combat zone. Everyone is on edge. This is because of the many unknowns that are present. At any moment we could have our first contact war and we don't truly know the capabilities of these aliens. While we have seen their main ship weapons and have a decent idea of their masonry-composed armor, this means nothing until hypersonic slugs start flying and nuclear fusion is forced in brilliant microsecond displays.

Their beam weapons are quite potent while glancing blows and even momentary strikes are probably survivable due to thermodynamics interacting with the void spaces within modern ship armor, but they can still punch through if a maneuver is botched. I don't have a complete answer on what those weapons do to internals when they make it through armor, but I know it isn't good. There are the shields the aliens have too. In theory, based on our modern science, they shouldn't stop anything physical due to them being fields of radiation according to most sensors, but I'm fairly certain they are quite capable of stopping some kinetics. Then are the stone hulls, while stone is easy to defeat normally, this is their strange magic stone or whatever. It could have properties closer to tungsten for all I know. Finally is Electronic warfare. Modern ship battles are opened with electronic warfare, a hacking war between ship-based offensive AI meant to disable any systems they can worm into. These potential enemies do not have computers according to Phillia, and if they did, they could be so different that even the most advanced electronic warfare AI may not be able to touch them.

This is bad because it is uncertain and because nothing is happening. It's bad on the minds of soldiers, sailors, and marines to be waiting for something to happen. Waiting for someone to swing or to back down. It could result in disaster if someone gets a little too antsy on the trigger. Luckily I think the situation isn't that bad yet. My orders were for everyone to just hand around their stations and be ready for something rather than actually putting us on imminent combat alert. Hopefully, this keeps heads cool and nerves steady.

More hours pass and everything seems fine, no screams for help over comms or any signs of loss of life. That's good, no news is good news in this type of situation. Then a notification for a direct call appears in the corner of my vision. I answer it to find it is Shariah calling to report on the situation on the ground,

"Talk to me Diplo-Colonel, what's the situation?"

She responds immediately, her voice somewhat confused and apprehensive,

"Commodore. We have met with the newest... official contact from the Eternal Kingdom. They are called the inquisitor, they gave no other name and refuse to as we are supposedly below them... him? I don't know what it is. We have been able to discuss with them about the current state of things in the royal capital but he has only spoken from a position of power speaking as if he is... in charge. We brought up your existence and the Inquisitor has shown great interest in meeting with you to discuss important matters that are apparently above us... commoners..."

I sigh and respond,

"Alright. I'll come down. Create a report over the Inquisitor so I may be ready to deal with him. Mannerisms, looks, and potential opinions on things."

I close the line and go find Phillia, I will definitely require a cultural context translator for this. The term inquisitor somewhat bothers me. I don't know the theological situation of the Eternal Kingdom so this could be a translation error on the side of the AI, a purely political inquisitor, or a brimstone-and-fire Spanish inquisition type of person. I gather my thoughts and start clearing my vision of all the information I had been digesting, with that done I head down to go and get my EVA suit on and have a shuttle prepared.

The military shuttle lands next to the diplomatic one outside of the city's walls. A draftless carriage awaits me just like before. I hop inside with Phillia following closely. She seems nervous in her navy dress uniform. I mean she is the daughter of a big rebel guy so it would make sense she is nervous about meeting an inquisitor, regardless of what that means in this situation, but by her demeanor when I told her who we were going to meet, I can tell it is most likely the zealot kind of inquisitor.

As I enter the central palace-like building the notes Shariah took for me arrive. I read through them quickly as I walk through the cavernous halls. The notes are sparse and lacking but the gist is that the Inquisitor is a very zealous person, holds social rankings in high regard, talks down on everyone, and apparently looks "very disturbing". I don't dwell on the last part but prepare myself mentally for some sort of eldritch horror or possibly a spider. Most folks are put off by large arachnids.

I pass by the group of humans waiting outside what I am told is a simple meeting room. I greet them shake hands with a few and then step inside through the massive wooden doors which open automatically for me. The interior is not a meeting room. I would describe it as a den or something, like the kind from those films about the Victorian era with mounted animal heads, a big hearth with a stone fireplace, and elegant furniture. The room feels incredibly cozy, not the sterile office space I expected.

Sitting on one of the plush chairs is the "disturbing" inquisitor. I had mentally prepared myself for a monster of some manner, but what I get is a golden human... sorta. The inquisitor looks human enough, but his skin is gold, his eyes are gold, and his hair is gold. Slowly I begin to notice the differences to humanity, the shape of the eyes, the pointed ears, the small wings on his back, and the overly long canines shining silver in the hearth light as he smiles at me.

I return the expression and announce myself,

"Hello there Inquisitor, I am Commodore Barnabas Hollander. It is my pleasure to meet you!"

The inquisitor stands and approaches me, and towers over me. This thing is easily 8 feet tall. The inquisitor holds out a massive hand and responds,

"Well met Commodore Barnabas Hollander... while this greeting is odd, I have been told it is common for your kind."

I nod and grip the large hand. Clearly he tries to big dick me by clamping down hard, but it feels like a middle schooler trying to grip me. I apply slight pressure, not enough to hurt but enough to let the tall thing know I am considerably more sturdy than our size difference would make one believe. I could tell, from the look in his eyes this isn't the type of person who humors political games. He is not some suave politician or investigator. He is a zealot, a complete and utter immovable object when it comes to his convictions and the way he stares at me makes me believe that he looks down on us. I am no politician, but I am well aware of how to deal with people like this, and I won't let him take advantage of the situation.

I smile and ask,

"Sir Inquisitor, if I may, what is your name? It should greatly speed along all talks we have."

He seems taken aback by my forwardness and grip, he answers,

"I am simply a humble inquisitor in service of His Majesty, my name is not for someone like you, and it is Lord, not sir."

I tilt my head and respond,

"Well, the way I like to do things isn't really that formal. I highly prefer we meet each other as friends and equals rather than being locked into some rigid and boring roles."

There is a momentary pause and I feel him try and release my hand, but I keep my grip like iron, an expectant look on my face. He responds,

"I am Lord High Inquisitor of the glorious royal faith his majesty above all else, Flavian Ontos."

I smile and let go of his hand responding,

"Nice to meet you Flavian. Feel free to call me Barnabas. "

Despite not being the host I direct him to take a seat which he does seemingly in shock over my blatant disregard for any sort of formality. I don't know the dance of politics, but I know the art of war, and if I can decide how, when, and where a battle is fought I have the advantage, disregarding my own capabilities. I decide when a topic is tackled, I decide how this meeting goes, and I decide where the discussions take place. The simple act of deciding when we sit rather than stand puts me in a position of power over him. While I don't plan to run an aggressive psyop for the whole discussion, I definitely want to start strong. Build myself up so he doesn't try to take advantage of or look down on me. If that situation starts to happen, I will throw him off. My helmet's review mirror shows Phillia staring at me in abject horror. That means this guy is no joke, all the more reason to keep him suppressed.

We sit down and I begin the conversation where I keep an absolutely pleasant demeanor about myself,

"So Flavian, why did you bring me down here? Have my diplomats done something to offend you or were otherwise deficient?"

This question is one he was prepared for so he answers, the confusion and whiplash subsiding,

"Ah yes, Com... Yes Barnabas they were deficient for the purposes of my questioning. As you know we are higher in society than they are. Me though my job and family ties and you from your military rank, if I read the notes correctly about your kind."

I nod affirming him despite the incorrect observation and he continues,

"Since it is clear there is no need for tact with you I will get to my point. I have been called here because the nobility of this frontier planet has no clue what to make of your kind. Since I just got here recently and all I have are the notes of incompetent backwater nobles I still do not know what to make of your kind. If it would be permissible, would you please allow yourself to be subject to questions I have?"

I respond with a smile,

"Sure thing my friend! I'll answer nearly anything so long as it's not a military secret, which I'm sure you understand."

He nods with an accepting expression and starts us off,

"First and foremost, I will address the dragon peaking into the room. What is the current situation with the daughter of the arch-traitor standing behind you?"

I make a show to look behind me only to see Phillia nearly pass out in fear. I then turn back and respond somewhat honestly,

"She is a slave trophy I have taken after my defeat of the army of traitors that was bothering this planet."

He responds with a question,

"Where is her collar? And why does she appear to be in a uniform of sorts instead of slave rags... or a nice set of clothes to... your tastes."

I raise an eyebrow and respond,

"It is simply the code of my ship. If you are on board you wear proper uniforms. Notice a lack of gold, silver, or brass. She has no official rank. Also, she wouldn't dare betray or disobey me."

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He nods and then continues,

"Why is she here?"

I respond quickly,

"Since I am of a very foreign culture to yours she is here to help me understand cultural context in case there is a statement or action either of us take that could be seen as offensive or confusing."

This causes him to laugh and he responds,

"If you have been avoiding offense and confusion, I fear to see what you would do if that was your point."

I laugh at the definitely not a joke and then motion for the Inquisitor to continue, keeping this at my pace. He then asks,

"Okay, with all that out of the way. I wish to know more about your people. The first and easiest question is why do you wear those strange suits? I have never seen anything similar to what you wear. "

I nod and quickly come up with a somewhat correct, and believable lie,

"This is a bit awkward to admit, but the mana in your air is toxic to us. I think our wavelengths or whatever are incompatible. Our best researchers are looking for solutions right now, but these suits are able to protect us from it. I have experienced what happens when your mana touches us... and well let's just say it was very painful!"

I chuckle at the end while shaking my head, making it seem like an embarrassing story. While not an entire lie, from what I have perceived, magic is considered a universal constant for them so it's better to explain it in a context they know. This explanation seems to go well, or at least is fully understood by the Inquisitor and he replies and asks,

"I see, that is unfortunate for your kind, but if our mana is incompatible it would make sense we cannot detect you and your ships. Tell me though, how can you detect ours? It seems your vessels are able to see and detect ours very quickly and from ranges thought impossible?"

I nod and respond,

"While I do not wish to bore you with a super detailed explanation, we send a pulse of... well what could be called mana out and it echos against objects and we can figure out where an object is using mathematics based off of that echo."

I realize what I said isn't a lie considering their "mana" is a form of radiation, so electromagnetic waves more or less should be considered mana to them, even if they aren't particles. Regardless I am no physicist and I have no clue how their mana works other than peeling my skin off. The Inquisitor asks,

"Why would you develop such a process? Would it not be easier to just simply detect the ambient mana of objects? Even if it's in your strange... wavelength?"

I respond,

"The great gap between our areas of space is completely devoid of our mana just as it is of yours. To explore this area to avoid crashing into moons and planets this is required for exploration."

This seems to spark something in the mind of the golden being and he mutters to himself, my helmets microphones picking up the very quiet voice,

"That is very intelligent... these people are strange."

I pretend I can't hear his words as his low voice tells me I wasn't supposed to hear. He then says,

"That is a novel process. Thank you for educating me on it. I can see how a situation like that would cause one to develop a method like that."

I nod and a small goblin-like creature appears at his side, bringing him a drink before disappearing through a hidden crawlspace. He takes a long drink from the clearly expensive booze and asks me,

"Now... since I have been reminded by the presence of the Arch-Traitors daughter, I must ask. How were you able to defeat him? Aside from myself, my kin, and the King's Court no one in the kingdom was able to defeat him in battle, and his ability to evade more dangerous foes had allowed his continued existence. Then in under an hour, you managed to annihilate him and most of his army. How was this possible? "

I exhale sharply, choosing my words carefully. I cannot boast too much, nor can I downplay it. I know he has probably heard what I said earlier from the shipmaster, but he probably wants to hear my explanation himself. I find my words and tell him,

"I am not boasting, nor will I downplay what I am saying here. That battle was little more than a minor planetary skirmish. We utilized minimal resources to defeat that army and lost not a single man."

I watch a multitude of expressions cross the Inquisitor's face before he says bluntly,

"I do not believe you. That is utterly impossible for anyone other than His Majesty and his closest advisors. There is no need to boast, we will eventually find the truth."

I reply with a flat expression,

"There was no lie, if you saw that battle as something impressive, what wars we have waged against ourselves would leave you stunned and in fear. If you believe me or not that is up to you. I know what I know, and have done what I've done."

There is a tense silence for a little while. The Inquisitor sips on his drink and a look of offense, disbelief, and curiosity crosses his face. He ends with an indignant expression and somewhat accusingly asks,

"So you're trying to tell me, that our Eternal Kingdom, which has lasted for thousands of years under his Divine Majesty, in the way of warfare is less capable of conflict? That your kind regularly in war kills thousands of powerful mages while we have spent centuries hunting down that group you routed and slaughtered in mere moments?

That isn't possible considering your claim of your current nation only existing for a mere few hundred years at most. There is not enough time to build dynastic strength in that period.

Here is the reality I see here. While I do believe you on the fact your magic is a novel form to ours and have found some interesting workarounds to your deficiencies, what I truly believe is you have a very large army in hiding somewhere, hidden by the fact we aren't able to see your mana yet. While I do not think of you and your kind as backstabbing, and I truly believe you are working for peace, you are also trying to posture and pretend you are much stronger than you really are in order to be in a higher position."

His expression softens to one of condescending understanding and says nearly mockingly,

"It is okay. I can respect the attempt and there is no reason to be embarrassed. What you have done is great alone so there is no need to pretend with me anymore. I can definitely offer you a better position out of all of this. "

I exhale sharply and respond with a smug grin,

"I don't know what to say except I'm baffled by the fact you can see anything with your... eyes shut like that. While I will not outright lie by saying you are completely wrong, I also will say you are not correct either. I deployed less than ten total... warriors onto the planet to secure my people. Everything else was done utilizing my own ability, which is not unique to me alone.

And you are correct in that we didn't have enough time to build dynasties, because our strength does not come from family lines, most of the time. We are not empowered by our blood, we are empowered by our own personal experience and will to improve.

You are also correct in that we only want peaceful relations with the Eternal Kingdom as we have been alone for so long. We always wanted friends among the stars."

This causes him to think for a while before exhaling deeply. He takes another swig and before he can ask for a new drink another slave is there refilling his cup. He then says with a far more friendly tone,

"I will take your word for now. I will go on to the next point, which is the one most important to me. It is a matter of faith."

I lean forward and casually ask,

"What is it you want to know about our faith?"

He nods and begins,

"I am a holy man and I am largely tasked with matters of faith. Before we continue further talks I wish to know what gods your people worship. Most new peoples we meet barely have moved past ancestors' worship and basic tribal shamanism, very unorganized. Tell me how your people see faith?"

I nod and think for a moment and with a casual tone I reply,

"Due to the nature of my job as a military man, I must first start with a disclaimer that all I am about to say about my personal beliefs are not those inherent to the rest of my kind. Second, I am also not extremely well-read in matters of different faiths and any incorrect statements about others are accidental and have no bearing on my opinion on those people and were not done in malice."

The Inquisitor stares at me confused as I finish my disclaimer for the record being kept by my helmets systems. In the corner of my vision, I can see a small notification that most of the diplomatic team is logged into the stream of my current situation. He motions for me to continue, choosing to ignore my strange statement as I prepare to explain human religion to an alien inquisitorial zealot,

"In my nation as of this moment, there are technically three major religions, each of them fully organized in a similar manner. Two of them are structured similarly and the last one is technically a breakaway version of one of the others that has changed itself rather radically in comparison.

The first is known as Abrahamic Christianity, also known as Abrahamism, this one has quite a long history and its more recent history in the last half millennia is very... tumultuous. This is the combination of three old faiths after a massive war in the region where they all started resulting in the fundamental breakdown of two of the religions. The third survived because they did not base themselves mainly on this region. Due to the catastrophic nature of this war, the three groups slowly began trying to understand one another as the worst zealots against one another more or less eradicated each other. With certain bad actors being annihilated those who normally were repressed by theocratic administrations began cooperation. Eventually, there were compromises to share worship buildings which led to proper theological discussion and research and in simple terms of a few centuries of unimaginable suffering due to massive wars all their beliefs sorta combined. This was made easy since they all started from an original proto-faith stated in all three of their most sacred religious texts, which had been started by a man named Abraham, hence the name.

The Christianity part comes from the name of one of those three starting religions known as the Christian Church. During this time of great strife, this church had slowly become a single entity after having been split into thousands of denominations leading to massive structural changes to act more in a way like the man known as Christ, which the church was named after. Christ is one of the most important figures in human history, for the religious he is the Messiah and actually God, and for others simply an important figure at the time. The term Christianity stuck on this religion because they were the ones who survived the war in the Holy Land and had the resources to stay united basically they had more people and assimilated the others. This religion is the most popular and has the most followers of any in human space, including my nation the USA.

The second major religion is known as the Machine Cult. Its true name is kept secret by its followers. This religion is structured exactly like Abrahamism but instead of worshiping God or Christ, they worship machinery like the spaceships we came here on. They are usually quite intelligent and focus on properly maintaining machines and creating newer and better ones. From what I understand they worship the machines as they are a manifestation of the Abrahamic God in some way. Apparently their founding can be traced back to a really old... ummm... text... thing..."

I catch myself from having to explain computers to the Inquisitor and continue,

"Called Temple OS, and their prophet left behind some messages. I can't remember the person's name as I am not of this faith. The most zealous of these worshipers try to improve their own human bodies by replacing parts with machines and... artifices so they can become closer to God."

The Inquisitor shudders about this part and interrupts saying,

"And your government allows them to do this?"

I nod and respond,

"It's their choice what they want to do with their bodies, but these modifications usually improve the capability of the worshiper to build machinery better."

The inquisitor nods and I move to the last major religion in the current USA,

"The last one is technically the only one that hasn't undergone massive change in the last five centuries, but it's roots are the second youngest compared to the Machine Cult. This is the Church of Latter-Day Saints, or simply the Mormon Church. This is a group of people who broke away from the standard Christian faith and have a bunch of different views. I am not well educated in their theology but they cannot drink alcohol and believe in some extra texts that work as add-ons to the standard holy books.

Those are the main religions that are found in the USA. There are many more, but they are usually super minorities and something like 10% of the population is atheist if I remember."

The Inquisitor quickly replies questioningly,

"How can you function with so many different religions alongside non-believers."

I shrug and respond,

"Humans are very diverse, we in the USA are quite accepting."

He frowns and asks,

"What of these faiths do you follow?"

I quickly answer,

"A denomination of the Abrahamic Church known as The Order of St.Miachel. It's practically the same and was only followed on my homeworld."

He nods and says matter of factly,

"Well, all these different faiths make things difficult, but it isn't something that can be rectified."

I frown and ask,

"What do you mean by that?"

He seems utterly confused and he responds,

"Well, I mean the Eternal Kingdom follows a single faith and that is the worship of His Majesty."

I motion for him to continue and he stares at me for a while before a look of realization crosses his face. He then speaks slowly and in a manner to how one would explain something to a slow child,

"Well... when your people become part of the Eternal Kingdom it is expected that you follow our religion. "

I take a deep breath and then slowly ask,

"What led you to believe that we wish to become part of your kingdom?"

He frowns and responds,

"Because as you said, your people seek peace. Simply joining is the peaceful method to this whole situation."

I again ask,

"What reason do you have for thinking my people will become part of your nation?"

I seem to be really confusing the Inquisitor before he says,

"Because that is the natural progression of things. The Eternal Kingdom, as a divinely driven and inspired nation, is the pinnacle of civilization. As the masters of all peoples, you will be assimilated into our kingdom. That is how things go. Sometimes minor military campaigns are required to subdue more prideful peoples but since you seek peace that can be avoided."

It's now my turn to speak slowly like he is the retard,

"That is not how things work. When I say peace I mean for our people to cooperate as peers. As friends, not as part of your kingdom."

He laughs heartily and responds,

"Of course! Of course! Yeah, your people are a peer to the Glorious Eternal Kingdom! A nation with less than a thousand years behind it is a peer who will not serve His Majesty!"

I frown and he continues,

"Of course not! Stop acting so high and mighty! This is a natural progression, all nations will serve under the kingdom, and those that do not are either barbarians who need to be enlightened through slavery or those who should not exist as they clearly do not have the light of intelligence within them."

I stand up and keep my voice level and my head cool. I tell him,

"That is not nature, that is delusion and religious zealotry. Our discussion is over so long as you hold this belief. My time will not be wasted with the likes of you."

He then stands, now clearly angry and he says sharply,

"You would disrespect me as such?"

I respond a little harshly,

"It takes respect in the first place to be disrespectful."

This really gets him mad as he literally begins glowing and he angrily says,

"Commodore. Do not test the kingdom if you do not wish for your people to be enslaved."

I step closer and nearly touch the glass of my helmet to his face and say aggressively,

"Try it and you will not survive."

He doesn't have time to respond before I turn away and drag Phillia behind me. I leave the room and head to the exit of the palace where a carriage is waiting. That's when the messages from the diplomatic team start streaming in. I ignore them and continue walking as in the distance I hear a large explosion as a wall of the palace is engulfed in flame.

While this is a diplomatic nightmare, I absolutely will not waste my time on the insane....