“In terms of projection, Temujin falls far short. Its military is second-priority to its conservation of the natural elements of its systems, and the Khanate places a lot of impetus on ensuring the preservation of the natural environments of the worlds that come under its control.”

“I’m sensing a but.” Arthur said, and shared a look of amusement with Perseus.

“But—” Endymion said with an annoyed glance at both of them “—Temujin is rimward of Parthia, to the galactic north as reckoned by Sol’s relation to us and the galactic center.”

“So they’re a nature-loving coalition of nomads, if my historical context is correct.” Arthur said while thinking back to what memories he had of his education on Albion. It was strange, he could remember the knowledge he gleaned from that education in sudden and unpredictable surges that came while he spoke to people, but he could recall nothing of the actual process of education, nor what his schooling had even looked like.

It was incredibly off-putting. He knew it had happened. He knew he had the knowledge. He simply couldn’t remember any of it with specificity. Shelving the disconcerting reality of his butchered memory, he focused on the immediate moment and finished his thought.

“And they’re cornered by an imperialistic and hyper-aggressive neighbor?”

“Yes.” Endymion grunted. “Temujin holds its own, thanks largely to its wealth of mineral resources and highly professional military, but if Parthia decides to really hammer them, they’ll need help.”

“Graecia isn’t willing?” Arthur asked with surprise.

“Temujin isn’t willing.” Perseus said with a sigh. “They keep refusing our offers of aid, saying they don’t want to be in our debt, basically. They’re stubborn.”

“That’s not uncommon, especially for some of the more culturally introverted nations.” Arthur said while using the knowledge provided by the memories Nataliya had fabricated. “The Fringe isn’t much different either. Rasputin is downright xenophobic.”

“Sounds like Iroquois.” Perseus muttered. “They’re so jaded they might as well post ‘fuck off and die’ signs across their Calypso points.”

“Andino.” Endymion growled.

“It’s true.” Perseus said defensively.

“Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s okay to say in public, brother.”

“Politics.” Arthur said dryly. “They’re always the same no matter where you are in the Humanosphere: a fucking headache.”

Perseus burst out laughing at his words, and even Endymion allowed himself to snort in amusement.

“So of all these powers, it’s just Parthia that’s a pain in the ass?” Arthur asked after their laughter subsided.

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“Essentially. Liberty and Sicilia depend on us for trade, Iroquois is isolationist, Temujin has a tenuous armistice with Parthia and uses their lanes for trade shipping—with a hefty tax, so I hear—and commercial travel. Bretonnia and Madrid are at a kind of permanent war footing with each other, and spend most of their time shooting one another over the same three systems in the same micro-cluster.”

“Waste of human life.” Endymion growled.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad out there.” Perseus said with a sober look. “As for Byzantium and Espania; they’re located Solward and just sort of exist. They’re too weak to challenge us or Parthia and historically they’re pretty close allies. Both the Byzantine Basileus and Espanian King are actually cousins, funnily enough. Their royal families are pretty heavily intermarried after centuries of peace.”

“What if they merged?” Arthur asked with interest. He’d definitely heard of it happening between smaller nations in Rim sectors, and even the Fringe and Verge had examples of it—though in almost every case, it was due to one side gaining pre-eminence over the other, and the lesser of the two powers seeking to preserve some measure of identity or influence when faced with a neighbor’s inevitable victory.

Planets didn’t fall often or easily in the Humanosphere, but a blockade would kill a civilization just as easily.

He didn’t even need to worry which memories that knowledge came from.

It was just such a constant for the Humanosphere that it didn’t matter.

“A merger could happen.” Perseus said with a thoughtful tone. “But probably won’t. I think they enjoy their individual independence too much, and alliances are a far cry from assimilation. Not even sure who’d be qualified to take over the other, honestly.”

“Could just do two monarchs like us.” Endymion muttered.

“Assuming they could find a way to meld the two constitutions as well.” Perseus agreed. “Byzantium is a lot less democratic than Espania, and a lot more brutal on dissidents to boot.”

“Nothing compared to Parthia.” Endymion snorted.

“Nothing compared to Parthia.” Perseus agreed.

“Parthia can’t be all that bad, can it?” Arthur asked carefully.

Both Kidemónes stared at him flatly, and Arthur raised his hands peacefully.

“Hey, I’m not from here. I don’t have generational loathing. I’m asking objectively.”

His companions looked at each other for a moment, and then Perseus spoke.

“They’re not mustache-twirling holovid baddies.” Perseus admitted. “And they are pretty economically solvent, with a booming population to boot. The problem is that—”

“They’re slaving, pillaging, honorless scum.” Endymion interjected flatly. “Parthians only put value on their nobles and serfs. The rest of the population are seen as chattel for their imperialism, and used as disposable assets. They use state breeding programs to inflate their birth rate, and then send children as young as fifteen to go fight their wars in mass-produced and cheaply built warships.”

“It’s numbers and fusillades for Parthia.” Perseus agreed grimly. “They’re the other big power in the cluster, but their strength has been built on a callous disregard for their own citizens’ lives.”

“And nobody has bothered to rebel?” Arthur asked with a disturbed look. The very idea of a nation like that not simply persisting, but thriving made his skin crawl.

“It’s been attempted.” Perseus said sadly. “Their propaganda is extreme, though, and their narrative is impeccable. Most Parthians are highly xenophobic, and genuinely believe the rest of the cluster—hell, the rest of the Humanosphere wants to destroy or enslave them. It’s classic despot stuff.”

“Another tragedy to lay at the feet of Terran selfishness.” Endymion muttered. “With no FTL communications, nobody can truly show Parthians differently. Merchants are kept well away from the population at large, and with how they curate their pleasure stations, most don’t care enough to rock the boat.”

“The ones that do, well, they don’t generally last very long.”

“And there’s no Solar Marshals here to do shit about it.” Endymion growled.