The Emissary Probe floated into one of the massive hangars that had been stripped from an ‘Origin’ Dolos and fitted onto the flagship of the Arcadian Air/ Space Force. Inside the hangar, each of which were big enough to house a few lesser spaceships, the probe was escorted to a rare open space. The hangar doors slowly closed shut and the interior was pressurized. Once the atmosphere inside was breathable, The Queen of Arcadia herself walked out and approached the probe.
“My Queen, you must be careful. What if it is a trap?”
Asharia kept walking towards the probe.
“If it was a trap then they would need to put enough power inside that probe to do some serious damage, and they don’t have the capabilities for that. Even if it could do any damage, it would not be enough to kill me, let alone harm me in any meaningful way.”
When Asharia reached the probe, it detected the organic life nearby and turned to face her. It scanned her features before seeming to turn on its back and flatten out. From the blue-green photoreceptor that was its camera, a holographic image showing the symbol of the U.G.N. appeared, before eventually shifting to reveal the countenance of one of the members of the delegation.
The individual shown was a male of a race that had horns like a Water Buffalo and a face like a Tanuki. The cuddly-looking fellow spoke in a voice one might expect from a character from a children’s television show, being squeaky, adorable and sounding exactly like he looked.
“Greetings to you. I am Cuddli Snuggli, and I represent the United Galactic Nations, and I would like to welcome you to the galactic community. I do hope that the actions of those people do not dissuade you from deciding to join our little family, as it would be better for all our races if we were to unite under a common focus. It can be difficult for lone powers to exist and stand on their own appendages, so I must reiterate that joining the United Galactic Nations would benefit you and your system immeasurably. But enough with the sales pitch, I am sure you have many questions about the state of the galaxy and the nations within it, and I am more than willing to answer them. Might I interest you in a face-to-face meeting, where we can discuss the future with each other? I have others here who would love to meet the new member of the galactic community and discuss the inevitably beneficial relationship we can have together.”
Asharia thought for a it, before giving her reply.
“First, send a document with information pertaining to the state of each galactic nation, their customs and mannerisms and culture and give me some time to go over them. Until I am done preparing, I would be grateful if you were to either wait for our response or, if that is not acceptable, dock your sips in the hangars of our Flagship, the ‘Adeptus Deorum’. I, Queen Asharia Ophedein Draconis, current regent over the Arcadian Solar Commonwealth, offer you my deepest assurances that you will be treated as the diplomats and emissaries that you are. With cordiality and grace, we shall offer you a food and drink that we hope you find acceptable. Does this sound fair?”
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The face of the Tanuki with Water Buffalo horns that stood on two legs seemed to light up as he cocked his head to one side.
“Of course! It is greatly appreciated that you are so hospitable, and quite admirable that you desire such knowledge prior to wide conversation! I do apologize for not sending this information sooner; it was an act of carelessness brought about by not having had a new FTL-capable nation existing in quite some time. I will reflect on my words and actions. I do hope that they have not caused you any distress.”
“They have not. I should apologize as well; if I had known your people’s customs and culture in advance, I would have been more suited to engaging in proper dialogue with you. However, what has been done cannot be undone, and therefore I seek the knowledge needed to avoid any blunders and gaffes in the future. When may I expect the information to arrive, if ever?”
The horned tanuki looked away for a moment and then turned back.
“I have just sent the data to the probe. It will be transferable to any number of devices, such as USB, Micro USB, CDROM and more. Please, go over the data at your leisure, we only seek peace, and the more you understand about us, the more easily it will be to understand you. If I could ask, could you please give the probe a sliver of information regarding your people, your customs and your culture? It would help us better prepare for our meeting.”
Asharia took the disk out from the probe and put another one in.
“I have planned ahead for such a situation. I do hope this data is what you desire. Now, unfortunately, I must leave. I will retire to my quarters to go over the information you sent at length. I shall return to the probe when I have finish. Farewell, for now.”
“Fare thee well, your highness.”
…
Inside the ambassadorial ship, Cuddli Snuggli and the other ambassadors went over the data that had been sent.
“Their culture is… eerily similar to the recorded start of the Angelus Holy Union. Should we be concerned?”
“Indeed, it does seem to be like the AHU’s creation myths, but those are just fables and fairy tales. What we need to be concerned about is their technology. While it has traces of primitive equipment, they are still capable of destroying a large AHU force in mere minutes. How much more dangerous could they be if turned against us?”
“I agree that we are walking on eggshells, but the fact remains that we need something with that kind of power on our side. Especially now that it is known that the AHU is violating the numerous treaties with reckless impunity.”
“We should simply impose economic sanctions on them. The AHU would fall to ruin without outside resources. War is something that should never happen again. We all know how costly the last war with them was, and we only emerged with a white peace and hundreds of worlds reduced to glassed, dead husks.”
“Then if the AHU continues their aggression, we should just let them destroy these people? That seems irresponsible. But I do agree with you. The loss of a single system and a single race to them would be a small price to pay to keep the peace.”
Cuddli Snuggli stood up in his chair.
“Then we shall ask the UGN to impose sanctions on the AHU. If they still end up destroying these primitives, then so be it. I don’t think they will, however. They will bend before the sanctions placed upon them and will fall in line.”
With the evidence sent, the UGN began to do the exact same thing as many Earth nations had done to North Korea and Russia, only with even less effect than on Earth. After all, what good would economic sanctions do to a nation that was entirely self-reliant on all matters? All this would end up doing is fanning the flames of hate and resentment in the AHU, and this would inevitably boil over into the exact scenario that the UGN had tried to avoid with their impotent reprimands and pointless sanctions.