For the first normal contact, we made some concessions, one of which was the release of prisoners. By this action we demonstrated to the inhabitants of this world that we are not here as invaders on these lands and do not have any aggressive intentions against them.
This gesture on our part should reduce the tension that has arisen between us, and apparently we succeeded. The natives were clearly glad that they were freed from their bonds and did not even try to make a rash act in the form of escape. They calmly accepted our gesture, which made me very happy.
At this point, we all split into two groups to finally negotiate once we finally had the opportunity, all thanks to the ability of a couple of natives to understand our language with the help of a strange phenomenon known as magic.
On the one hand, there was me and my entire platoon, and on the other hand, an old man dressed in a gray robe introduced himself to us under the name Granid, and behind him sat the freed prisoners and fugitive natives.
Behind me stood the men of platoon C1-2-2-D4, holding their weapons at the ready. Despite the fact that I gave the appropriate orders, there is still some paranoia among us about the likely hidden hostility of these natives towards us, and this paranoia was completely understandable to me.
None of us had previously expected that Yasmi would decide to attack John at the time of negotiations, and therefore we expected the same now, but this time our position with the natives was equal, and not dominant as three weeks ago.
However, in order to successfully leave these lands and connect with the entire 127th Army, we do not need to break through these lands in battle, especially when our ammunition was running out. We need to extract maximum benefit from these negotiations and minimum interference in the lives of the natives.
The first thing I did was introduce myself again, and this time in much more detail than before. Raising my gaze towards the natives, sitting on the grass in the lotus position in an even voice, I began to say:
“My name is Boris Kipito, a man from planet Earth, I serve in the Republic Armed Forces of Mankind in the temporary rank of junior lieutenant and currently lead this platoon.”
Incartia, capable of understanding our language with the help of a trick, translated what I said into two languages, in one language for her friends and teacher, and then again into the language of the fugitive natives. After this, whispers began among the natives, especially among the fugitives. It seems that my presentation raised a lot of questions, and nevertheless, an old man named Granid, after slightly touching his beard, also decided to introduce himself to us in a new way:
“My name is Granid and I was born in this world, I live in this forest as a free magician. It's nice to meet you, guests from heaven."
I nodded as a sign of understanding his words and at the same time restrained myself from shaking his hand; it is quite possible that on this planet there is no such diplomatic tradition as a handshake and this gesture could at least be perceived as strange.
Unlike the natives, our guys did not need a translation into English, since Granid spoke it anyway. In general, the beginning of the negotiations was quite productive, which I was immensely happy about, but I was embarrassed by the fact that I was communicating with a simple representative of this planet, and not a trusted representative of a specific civilization of this planet.
That is, sooner or later we will have to negotiate again, but this time with representatives of native states, if there are any of course, the Empire does not count, because we are in a state of conflict with them.
Nevertheless, we still need to start somewhere, so we had nothing to complain about. We need at least guides, because it is quite possible that our presence will not even have to be fully revealed in order to safely pass through these lands. I will return to this issue once I have explained to them our current situation, which is what I intend to do.
“I have already said this, but I will repeat what I said earlier. We unwittingly ended up on your planet and ask for your help to leave it. We have no desire to conquer and change the current life of the inhabitants of this planet, and nevertheless we deeply apologize for our mistake.”
The old man raised his palm as a sign of understanding and answered us in a hoarse voice:
“I'm not Sod to accept your apology, but I would like to know two things. First of all, how are you going to leave our world? And secondly, what error are you talking about?”
«Several weeks have passed, but so far there are no consequences of the crash of «Zeus». Maybe that's why he doesn't understand what I mean?»
I thought, deciding to explain myself.
“I think I can answer two of your questions at once. The fact is that we travel through space on huge ships, crossing vast distances between planets and stars. Interplanetary flights can last for weeks, if not whole months, and flights between stars can take tens of years, and in order to reduce the time for these flights, our ships jump into another dimension into the so-called subspace and through it we travel to another star much faster than in ordinary space. »
The faces of Incartia and Granid reflected misunderstanding and this is not surprising. It is unlikely that the primitive inhabitants of the planet can understand how a person who has mastered space flights makes these very space flights. To explain this to them, we need to explain almost from scratch how celestial mechanics work, why ships can go into orbit, what weightlessness, gravity, radiation, subspace, maneuvers, cosmic phenomena and everything else related to space are.
Unfortunately, we don’t have time for this, so I tried to explain everything in as simple a language as possible, despite the fact that I used terms unfamiliar to them, which apparently were untranslatable for them.
Meanwhile I continued:
“So our ship flew through subspace, but for some unknown reason it was thrown out of there straight onto your world and after that the captain of the ship gave the order for evacuation. I don’t understand this well, but it seems that the captain simply did not have time to change the flight path, which is why such an order was given. Our entire army was evacuated on shuttles, and the ship, having lost its crew, crashed on the other side of the planet and most likely... with great probability... destroyed all life on the other side of your world. The consequences of this collapse will be catastrophic for your world. Millions of people who could live there could become victims. I told you about this mistake.”
After this, the old man frowned on his face, and while Incartia was translating all this, her eyes widened and widened. The natives were also surprised at the translated words of Incartia, although I’m sure few of them understood part of my words, and this despite the fact that I tried to simplify this story as simply as possible.
I didn’t tell them that we had been flying to this planet for several weeks, but said that we immediately fell out of subspace above this planet. Nevertheless, the real reason for the evacuation of the ship, unfortunately, is unknown to me for certain, John knew it, but he, unfortunately, died without sharing the basic information with the rest of the regiment about the reasons for the evacuation, so I further thought of a realistic scenario, namely loss of control by ship.
I honestly don’t know why the ship was unable to enter orbit, or at least simply did not fly past the planet, but instead, for some unknown reason, left orbit and crashed on the surface.
Apparently the computer made a mistake with the calculations, or maybe... some unknown force artificially sent our cruiser directly to the planet. It was stupid to make guesses here and therefore I did not make them further, because we ourselves needed more information about this planet.
I gave the natives some time so that they could think over the words I had spoken and after that I continued, explaining to them our further actions:
“Our shuttle broke away from the main army when it landed on the surface of your planet, and we fell very far behind the rest of the group, collapsing into an anomalous forest with toxic sediment. Few of us managed to survive. Behind me are all those who were able to survive the last three weeks, and at the time of evacuation from the ship there were five hundred of us.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"We're sorry for your loss."
Granid bowed his head and continued listening to me.
“Our current task: connect with the 127th Army upon arriving at the landing site, and then begin construction of a new ship to leave your planet. The army command must have information for such a complex project, so it is quite possible, but this process may take a significant amount of time... probably ten years is the minimum, but before that we need to lead our platoon through these lands further to the east. Immediately I wanted to repeat my question again: will you help us?”
"I'm afraid not."
Granid answered quickly, but after some time he thought about it and decided to offer something.
“If you need our help, then help us too.”
“But we are not going to interfere with your…”
The old man, however, interrupted me with a stern look and also sternly saying the following:
“You are guests here, this is not your home, you were not born here, you are strangers here, that’s why the spirits avoid you. They do not know souls who were not born in these parts. Do you want to return to your people after passing through these lands? Well, you are already wandering through this forest as long as I allowed you to be here, and you did not shed a drop of blood in this forest, but what about other lands? You do not know the words of our language, nor other languages of our world, you do not know the foundations of our world and its laws, you know nothing about magic and its nature, but still you dare and ask us for help. You must understand that you can’t just get meat, so know that you won’t go any further as long as you don’t want to pay something.”
This is what we were afraid of: retaliatory demands. If, after returning to the Republic, because of active interference in a primitive civilization, we are sent to court, then their help is not worth it and it is better for us to move east without anyone’s help.
However, we are at great risk of entering into a conflict simply because we do not know the language of the inhabitants of this planet. We risk making our path much more difficult with our non-intervention and increasing the likelihood of losses, which I cannot afford.
I wanted to avoid interference, but right now we are being forced to help them, and it doesn’t matter whether our help is significant or not, it is in any case a factor of active interference in the lives of the natives, a violation of black protocols.
«Fuck!»
I twisted my face out of frustration.
«I was left with no choice.»
"Okay."
I said and rose to my feet.
"We understand."
I turned towards the platoon, seeing the perplexed faces of the guys. They clearly did not expect that they would put demands on us, and yet we have no other choice. This man is a magician, he can burn us with a snap of his fingers, his paranormal abilities are colossal and it is simply pointless to resist him in this situation.
Maybe some of my guys also understood this, but still no one thought that we would stoop to the level of fulfilling the demands of a representative of a primitive, backward civilization. I wasn’t happy about it either, but still we had no other choice, especially if we wanted to return home.
“Guys, you heard everything perfectly. However, I want to know what you think about it? Should we help the inhabitants of this planet so that we can beg for the favor of escorting us through these lands?”
After these words, an active argument ensued between the platoon soldiers. One camp was for intervention, while the other was against it. Of those who were in the second camp, Will, to my surprise, wormed his way in without taking his eyes off the natives and immediately objected:
“We could handle it ourselves. Not being seen by us would be quite enough.”
“And yet our ammunition is running low.”
Itami interjected, crossing his arms over his chest.
“If we constantly encounter danger while hiding, then sooner or later we will simply have nothing to defend ourselves with. In any case, we need the help of these natives; without their support we will not pass through these lands.”
“We’ll run out of ammunition anyway, but we won’t be able to replenish it anyway.”
Forn spoke now.
“Will we be able to find the generator for the replicator lying around among the natives? I think it's unlikely. Sooner or later we will have to take up swords and bows and even possibly suffer losses. In this case, we do not need the help of the natives, especially when they set conditions for us. We don’t have to agree to this, and if we do, then we will all die of old age in prisons somewhere under the surface of Pluto.”
“The hidden method of travel is extremely risky.”
Anzhey suddenly supported the natives.
“It is no better than open contact and cooperation. With the support of the natives, we can safely pass through these lands and join the rest of the army. I think it won’t be a problem if we help them, it rather depends on what kind of help they need.”
"Enough."
I raised my palm so that the fighters would finally calm down.
“I listened to you.”
After that, I turned towards Granid and concluded:
“Looks like we have no choice, we'll have to pay for the service.”
The old man, in turn, smiled and also rose to his feet, saying the following:
“I am glad that you have chosen no other path, guests from the world «Earth». I hope we can truly help each other.”
"Speaking of which."
I interrupted the old man.
“How can we help you so that you can lead us through these lands?”
At that moment the old man turned around and began talking to the fugitive natives. They talked for a very long time before Granid turned to us and offered the following:
“Our desire will be unpleasant for you and quite unexpected.”
«I can’t even imagine what he will offer.»
I frowned, ready for an unpleasant answer, but what he said next surprised me:
"Save this country."
"What?"
I widened my eyes.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Just what I said."
The old man said, turning to the fugitive natives.
“After listening to the story of Hippolytans, I learned that a powerful force moving here from the west. She is inexorable, omnipotent, and you have already encountered this force.”
«Have we encountered them before? In what sense?... Wait...»
"You mean the Empire?"
I guessed and the old man nodded.
"Right."
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha~! Well no-o-o-o-o~..."
I grinned, not believing my ears.
"No-no-no-no-no. We will not deal with them, especially after our unsuccessful meeting with them. We have no time for them now. We are of course already in a state of conflict, but our current priority is return and minimal intervention.”
"You said you were moving towards your army."
The old man said and I nodded in agreement, and the old man continued, developing his thought.
“If this is true, then it needs an army to save this country.”
«This is crazy!»
I was angry to myself and immediately said with dissatisfaction in my voice:
"This is too much. Expect less grandiose help from us than you can imagine, but not this. We are the army of the republic and it is unlikely that General Zeonid will agree to help you, especially when, after returning, we can all face a tribunal for violating the black protocols. We are strictly prohibited from interfering in the life of primitive civilizations, the only exceptions being emergency situations like this. So we will not agree to this."
“I understand you, Boris, but you also understand that the faithful servants of Sod will not let you go from this world, and if they begin to conquer neighboring peoples, then they will certainly not let go of those whom they consider enemies of Sod. Your help will help us and you.”
"How?"
“It’s not for me to talk to you about this, but know this: heaven is closed to mortal creatures like people. This is Sod's domain and no one dares to hover over it."
«Is that why our cruiser left orbit?»
I asked myself a question, but decided not to mention it out loud.
His thoughts were quite clear to me, but with his words he aroused suspicion, very great suspicion.
"Who are you?"
I suddenly decided to become interested.
“Aren’t you a free magician? What do you have to do with this country?”
The old man gasped and laughed.
“Oh, please forgive me, I forgot, I completely forgot to tell you. This forest is part of the kingdom of Lakuusa and I, as its resident, undertake to protect it and as long as it is in danger from the servants of Sod, then I should not turn away from it, but do everything possible to save it from the efforts of the especially faithful and blind.”
"Teacher!"
Incartia suddenly exclaimed, causing Granid to turn to her in order to hear the next words.
“We need to tell them.”
“What are you talking about?”
I asked, and Incartia immediately answered.
"Tell about Antigone."