Catherine was staring at the group of not-so-alien Xeno's with a determined gaze as she worked out her grand strategy in her head. 'Should I pet them starting from the left and make my way to the right? Then I would start with the little mole dude and end with a doggy... But on the right, I get to start with the fluffiest fluffer... Ugh, either way, I'm gonna pet them all. I'll just start with Mr. Mole, he looks the saddest.'

With that thought, Catherine confidently strode over to Malenth and crouched down as much as she could, to match his height. He turned his head towards her, "Ms. Catherine, I presume? The massive Terran footfalls give your kind away relatively easily... If... If you are over here to console me, it is unnecessary. I... I will be fine."

Catherine grimaced at the sad tone and looked around to see all of the other creatures with similarly dark expressions that screamed their world had just come crashing down. She picked up Malenth in the most gentle way she possibly could, eliciting a surprised yelp from the old Mogura. He was about to question her when she hugged him and started petting him.

For Malenth, the feeling of being held by Catherine felt... familiar. It felt to him, like home. Like he was back to a time when he was being cradled by his loving mother. Tears welled up in his milky eyes and he let his emotions flood out. He thought of all the friends and family he had buried over the years, all the funeral processions he had headed. All those souls he had thought were going on to a golden land as told by Lunisia. He thought about how they could have prevented their deaths, but they didn't dabble in cybernetics or gene engineering out of respect for Lunisia and Maleficus.

Catherine moved into the middle of the group, who were all eyeing Malenth with confusion. Their own eyes welling up with tears, or their hearts clenching as if in response to Malenth's own expression of sadness. Catherine plopped herself down and settled Malenth into a comfortable one-arm cradle using her legs, and then motioned to the rest of the Councilors for them to join. "C'mon now! Don't be shy! Look at the little mole friend, he's getting it all out. You all need a little Catherine time too. So one of you come and get your hug and a pat."

Slowly... Tentatively, Venn gave a few sad little hops over towards Catherine. Once he was close enough she held out her hand and invited Venn to take a seat on her other leg. He did so and she immediately hugged him. He felt a pang of instant fear well up inside his heart that was somehow quelled without her even doing anything. Then, she started scratching behind his floppy ears and his normally fearful heart melted.

Jeff watched on from his shadowy corner of the chamber as more and more of the odd earth animal aliens gathered around Catherine for solace as though she was their beacon of light. As he watched on with his unmoving expression he mumbled, "I knew there was something weird about you. Why John kept you so protected. He must have seen that something in you, something that not even I could fathom. He just used you being his niece to cover it up didn't he?"

He sighed and shook his head, "I suppose we will find out what makes you so special in due time. I'll just have to protect you with my all until then."

A few minutes later she had almost all of the highest figures in a foreign government wrapped around her fingers as she treated them with a warmth similar to that of their own mothers. Even the Rantari Councilor that had been so hostile and opposed to basillius had cracked and let her pet him.

Finally, Catherine stood up with a happy expression, "Ahhh... That was wonderful... So many floofies. So many fluffers made happy. A job well done, me. A job well done."

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After patting herself on the back she finally realized that they had been missing an incredibly crucial step. She brought up her AR communicator with a thought and called Ashley. "Heyyyyy... So, are you uhhh... Are you still working with me?" She asked hopefully.

Ashley simply sighed, "Of course we are. We are back on the Amaryllis waiting for you to take the Captain's chair, Cath."

Catherine coughed a little bit. "Well, about that... I'm not really a Captain of the Freighters Guild anymore. I was... promoted. I am now the Fluff Councilor. So... I think I can give you guys those raises... Also, I'm going to need the ship here or at least a shuttle. We are going to have to heal up a lot of these little guys in a short amount of time. The fleet scared them..."

Ashley facepalmed and shook her head, "Of course it did... Well, I'll talk to the others about joining you down there. We are also going to have to get clearance to move from the Arch Primarch, Aurelius. After that, I'll be down there. I also expect a large bonus~."

With that said, Ashley cut the comms with Catherine and started calling the others. First up was her brother, Alan. "Heya Al. Cath just called. She wants us to go work with her, planetside. We get big o- 'bang'... Al? You ok?

Alan was sitting in his retro gaming setup when she called. He paused his game and listened to the point he heard that Catherine still wanted to work with them before jumping up out of his chair, dragging along his Zbox and his headphones by the cords dragging them off the desk with a 'bang'. "Shit! Yeah, I'm fine... my gaming setup isn't though... I'll have to fab another one... Anyway, yeah. I would love to- *cough*... really enjoy continuing to work under Catherine's stellar leadership."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "You still have blondie in your sights after finding out that she's the Emperor's niece? Props..."

Alan scratched his head in embarrassment, "Well... I'll have to think about that when I get there. Can't get cold feet after all this time..."

Ashley chuckled at him and said her goodbye's before hanging up and calling Nadiya. "Hey, Nadiya! Got a quick question for you. Wanna work with Catherine as a special diplomat to the new alien animal people? Big raises attached."

Nadiya smiled and shook her head, "No... That job is much too... Out in the open. I liked it here on the Amaryllis. Quiet, away from everything. Just you guys all bickering with Catherine over things that were so minor it was laughable. I don't think I want to be in a position of such... pressure. Just being in the presence of his Majesty was... a lot. I think I'll just go home, to my brothers and sisters. It has been a while, after all. I thank you for your kind invitation, however. Do keep in touch every now and then though, please."

Ashley frowned and nodded along. "Aright Nadiya... I'm sad to see you go, but I understand. I'll be sure to visit you sometime soon. Perhaps we can visit Eidolon-3 with your family sometime?"

Nadiya gave her a warm smile and nodded, "I would like that, Ashley. Goodbye, for now."

Now it was time for the one call Ashley was dreading. Seconds later, the picture of a middle-aged man with heavy mods came into view. "Heya Jeff... I know you aren't much of a talker, but I wanted to ask if you would like to continue working with Catherine and I on planet. We'd be working as diplomats, so there's a raise."

Jeff simply raised an eyebrow before switching what was projected to Ashley from his face, to what he was looking at. Immediately, the picture of Catherine standing triumphantly amongst a menagerie of animal people that looked as though they just underwent a spiritual awakening filled her vision."

Ashley sighed, "By Basillius... She's already converted them... Wait, why are you there already?!"

Jeff's face came back into view. "Under the order of the Emperor, I am guarding Catherine. I would not be caught away from her side for long."

Suddenly it dawned on Ashley, "Wait... Have you been Catherine's guard this whole time?! Is that why you were always so... shadowy? Never talking to anyone and keeping a sharp eye on Catherine all the time?! Fuck me! It makes so much sense now..."

Jeff sighed heavily, "Goodbye, Ashley. I am going to attend my duty now that you have my answer to your original query."