Zaltoms request shocked both Riseth and Alistair. Nessyra was wearing a choker, which was the Earth's equivalent of a wedding band. Alistair had not asked Nessyra about it waiting for her to address it herself as he was quite sure that she had either a loveless marriage or her husband had died. Neither topic Alistair would broach without a good reason.

"To my knowledge, your previous marriage already held political ties. I offer my condolences for your loss and respect any time you may need for grieving. Nonetheless, I am eager to hear your thoughts," Zaltom pressed on.

Alistair cast a concerned glance at Nessyra, whose demeanor turned cold and impassive. Sensing his worry, she reassured him over their Akashic Link, "We'll talk about it later." He sensed her calm but wasn't sure if it was her suppressing her emotions or if she had expected the question.

"I'm deeply honored by your offer, but I must respectfully decline," Nessyra replied, her voice firm. "I've only recently found a sense of self and independence in my position. I'm not ready to surrender that freedom. Like my sister, I seek a relationship founded on love, and we both value our independence too greatly to be tied to one another, Arbiter."

"A regrettable decision, but understandable," Zaltom accepted without apparent disappointment.

Alistair noticed Satari's dissatisfaction at the exchange. He wasn't quite sure if she was glad or offended over Nessyra's refusal. It might have been both. But Zalton truly did not seem to care, and Alistair was glad he did not request him for any of his family members. However, he suspected Zaltom was aware of the futility and potential offense of such a request. He was also unsure how such a refusal was viewed in Neshan culture, but he hoped it wasn't overly egregious.

"It's all right. Politely declining such a sudden proposal won't cause offense. They are probably plotting something, but Nessy got it under control," Riseth reassured him through their link.

Grateful for the resonance, Alistair had been suppressing his emotions as best he could. However, he suspected that Zaltom might still have noticed despite his attempts to maintain a neutral expression. It was another reminder that this was a negotiation led by Aliens. While similar to Earth in many ways, it had its fair share of differences. Alistair wondered what Zaltom was aiming for if the marriage request truly was part of a plot. "Perhaps they are trying to get a reaction out of me?" Alistair wondered.

After an awkward pause, Zaltom broke the silence, looking at Alistair. "There is one more matter. Sol has requested that I negotiate an agreement with the Ryser clan."

"And what would that be?" Alistair inquired.

"Simply put, he wishes to uphold the spirit of cooperation he established with you. In exchange for a single favor, Sol offers unrestricted access to his domain and an official trade permit for your clan," Zaltom explained.

Alistair furrowed his brow. "Could you clarify the nature and scope of this 'favor'?"

Zaltom smiled reassuringly. "Of course. You hold the authority to refuse any task you deem too risky or disagreeable. As the arbiter overseeing this pact, I would evaluate the legitimacy of your decision." Taking a moment to savor another bite, this time from an eyeball, Zaltom went on, "The favor may be many things, like assisting in a single battle or exchanging pertinent information or a treasure."

"And how high would the Arbiter value Sol's offer?" Nessyra asked.

Zaltom's smile grew slightly predatory, showing his sharp fangs. "Not particularly high. There is a whole multiverse to trade with. I would not expect you to risk your life, leave behind a family member, or share information you do not wish to share."

Alistair was confused initially but understood quickly. Nessyra was gauging the size of the favor owed. Zaltom, in his role as Arbiter, would be the one to decide, and getting a statement from him now would be binding.

Nessyra turned to Zaltom with a respectful nod. "Thank you, Arbiter," she acknowledged before addressing Alistair and Riseth over the link. "We should accept this agreement. Zaltom has given us a great measure of favor. Agreeing would also serve as a goodwill gesture toward Sol so that we can visit Earth undisturbed if necessary."

Alistair thought about it, and it made sense. Sol focused on dominating Earth and the factions trying to claim it for themselves. Factions like Alistair's clan and South Korea's chaebols, if anything, took competitors off the board. Forming alliances with external forces originating from Earth would be a strategic advantage. This whole exchange also confirmed that Zaltom wasn't just the Arbiter of Neshan but also the go-to for other local natural gods with less reputable reputations like Sol. Alistair also suspected it played into some political game they weren't aware of yet, but he would still give his consent if Riseth and Nessyra shared his opinion. He voiced his thoughts over their link. Nessyra still thought it was a good idea where, whereas Riseth was still mulling it over.

"If this comes back to bite us, I want the contract to show that I had my reservations," Riseth said, looking at Nessyra.

"I'm certain they're scheming something, but I highly doubt it's a collaboration against us. My intuition tells me they aim to forge closer bonds with our clan. In the best case, they are hoping to establish ties or a sense of debt that would prompt us to assist them occasionally," Nessyra speculated over the link.

Nessyra continued to press for details, managing to secure some minor concessions and clarifications from Zaltom and Satari, while Alistair and Riseth brainstormed potential loopholes in the two agreements. Nessyra intended to review them thoroughly before finalizing any agreements, but overall, things were looking promising for them. Zaltom's position as an Arbiter limited how much favor he could openly show, and Satari, as his proxy, was eager to curry favor with the Ryser Clan. Alistair had nearly tuned out of the conversation until a particular topic caught his attention.

"Neshan is pooling its resources to acquire the technology necessary to build a space fleet by purchasing a set of costly Study Dungeon topics. Would the Ryser clan be open to joining this endeavor?" Satari proposed.

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Alistair's interest was piqued. "How substantial of an investment is this for Neshan to undertake?"

"Roughly one billion USC. It's a more than significant sum for a single faction but manageable for a planet's worth of industrious demons," Satari explained, a hint of pride evident in her tone.

Nessyra excused them for a moment to discuss it, and a brief silence settled over the room. Zaltom continued eating unperturbed, while Satari watched them with anticipation.

"They are already quite certain we have a spacecraft and poking for alternatives. Riseth it is your craft, what are your thoughts?" Nessyra Inquired.

Riseth paused before answering. "I am not willing to lend them my craft to dismantle. The Artemis is at the heart of our plans, and we can't afford to risk it."

"I agree with Riseth. I'm not even sure it's a good idea for us to offer funds. We already have enough expertise and tech to figure it out independently." Alistair added.

Nessyra nodded in agreement before turning to Satari. "Apologies, but the Ryser clan is currently not interested in joining such a venture."

Satari chewed on her lower lip, contemplating their response. "It may be presumptuous of me, but I assume your clan already possesses the necessary expertise and sees little value in joining."

"Correct," Nessyra affirmed. "I should also mention that this expertise comes from a different source than our initial agreement, so we're not obligated to share it."

"However, our expertise is also less complete than whatever the topic offers. We don't dare presume that our expertise would be sufficient to create a fleet worthy of Neshan, but it is sufficient for our needs," Nessyra added, emphasizing the distinction.

Satari paused, eying them thoughtfully. "Zekaria Corp. won't be the recipient of the topic itself and can only send a certain quota of future shipwrights to learn alongside the other corporations. We have the manpower to start production but lack the expertise. Perhaps we can help each other?"

"Now that sounds more promising," Alistair commented over the link as he tempered his excitement.

Nessyra maintained a stoic demeanor as she spoke, "We might consider disrupting the precious time of our experts during the trial. However, it won't come without a price. The trial presents a singular opportunity, one that we won't encounter again."

Satari did not even try to negotiate. "State your terms." She declared.

Nessyra turned to face Alistair and Riseth again with a serious expression. This could take up a lot of time for both Riseth and James. Everyone in the room knew that they would need to get heavy concessions to justify it. What Satari did not know, however, was that they already had plans to do this. The rooms' atmosphere had grown more tense, with the exception of Zaltom, who continued to enjoy his dinner, unfazed and staying true to his impartial nature.

Alistair noted that, much like Sol, Zaltom had been affected by outside influences, some of which he wasn't familiar with. However, it made sense that different species had different kinds of cultural influences in the multiverse and were more likely to be affected by those. Perhaps Earth's volatility was just bad luck, or somebody or something had influenced it. Perhaps even both possibilities were true. But based on what Sol had told him, Humans were usually even more volatile, and perhaps it had been to their benefit.

"Before we make any decisions, we need to check with my brother. James would be the one sacrificing most of his time, so the decision is his." Alistair stated out loud.

Neither Riseth nor Nessyra objected. Alistair called his brother, explaining the situation and asking if his brother had any demands. Riseth had already verbally agreed to do it if the concessions were good enough. Everyone looked at Alistair as he looked blankly at his food, waiting for his brother's response.

"So you got them convinced that it all hinges on me agreeing?" James inquired over the link. "You guys are scary negotiators. From the looks of it, we will need to push this war trial to its limits even more than we had planned. As for requests for demands, it's that we keep whatever craft we build, and I want to select at least one of the shipwright crews to join us as employees afterward," James stated firmly. "If I'm training them, I might as well retain some of the labor," he added.

Alistair nodded in agreement. "Agreed, keeping the craft we build was a given. And your second demand makes sense. We'll need to ensure the shipwrights are onboard with the arrangement, or we can limit the offer to those willing to accept it," he said over the link, glancing at Nessyra for confirmation.

Nessyra, who had listened in, spoke up. "That should not be too much of a problem. As you said, we can put conditions for the potential applicants."

"Another request is for them to pay for the materials and production costs. If we have to finance that ourselves and I have to burn through the materials I have been saving for other projects, we won't finish before the trial ends," James insisted.

After some more discussions, they relayed their terms to Satari, who listened intently. She idly played with her hair as she considered the proposal.

"We would need some assurances. The material budget needs to be within reason. Also, the shipwrights must be trained in reactor and jumpdrive construction and maintenance." Satari stated.

"We can teach them, but we won't take responsibility if they fail to learn. We will record the process to provide Zaltom with reasonable means to judge in case of a dispute. I will also need a quote on what is determined as a reasonable material expense," Nessyra clarified.

The two women immediately delved into discussions about costs, expenses, the number of workers, and limitations. Alistair was well aware that the spacecraft's actual size would far exceed Satari's estimates. They had scouted the debris in space and around the moon station. Although they hadn't ventured into the moon stations themselves, they had spotted structures resembling hangars that could potentially house additional crafts or, at the very least, tools and infrastructure they could salvage. Even if the hangars turned out to be empty, they had spotted a lot of destroyed crafts orbiting the planet. They had not lied in the sense that they had not actually retrieved or obtained any of that salvage yet and could not possibly know if any of it was still in one piece or contained the coveted technology. Not stating or elaborating on speculations was one of the many facets of Neshan's half-truths they abused right now.

The automata trial planet was plagued by Kessler Syndrome. Initially, they had mistaken the frequent appearance of shooting stars for a common phenomenon on that planet. However, they were forced to halt during their initial attempt at a scouting mission to the moon base. While their shields had protected the Artemis, it quickly became apparent that flying through or remaining stationary in orbit would rapidly deplete the energy reserves of their mana reactors, which powered their shield. Moreover, it posed an immense danger to anyone outside the ship's shield attempting to recover the broken-up ships and satellites. They had withdrawn to plan a more organized approach as they analyzed the chaos to find at least a slightly more secure route out of orbit.

They had made plans to let Alistair and Riseth attempt to recover larger chunks of spacecraft debris since they were the only ones capable of withstanding potential impacts. They first had to create storage devices large enough to contain the pieces, as the original cubes had rejected the broken ship parts they had tried to recover before they withdrew. James had suggested that the cube, recognizing they were part of a larger whole, refused to store the chunks without the rest or was part of another storage system.

Their plan had been to create a Frankenstein ship from the parts they could find in the debris and add a jumpdrive and reactor themselves in case they could not salvage any. Still, now that they had sorted out their lack of labor problem and had somebody else pay for the additional materials required, they would be able to create something bigger. Much bigger.