Chapter 61: 060 ‘Some People’

"What will we be expected to give as compensation for her services?" Donovan, Diana and ARC were holding their nightly conversation about what they had learned over the course of the day and what developments had occurred on ARC's side in the time between.

"Her payment is to be covered by the Sanctum, though I would not be averse to providing for her in other ways." Donovan was the one in charge of his own training, it followed that decisions on that front would largely be left to him. Use of their limited capacity for industry needed the input of ARC of course. "Despite being a noble, the successor to a kingdom even, her people are still very poor. If balls and galas are as big of a deal as Diana insists they will be for such high ranking people, then I think it might be prudent to provide her with some nicer clothing."

"I don't know how much she would enjoy those gatherings, but I would agree that would be a good idea. Additionally, I can see a potential source of income in that area, selling fancy clothing, and having her as an additional model for advertisement would no doubt help." Diana added her opinion on the matter, including the a quick plan for such a course of action.

"I will keep that in mind in regards to the development of industry, but increasing capacity comes first."

"That is a given. I don't even know where we would get the materials." Diana was certain that her goal of selling clothes was far from attainable at the moment. "Focus on what needs to be done, you know best in this field."

"Speaking of industry, you recently got started with preparations right ARC?"

"The planning phase has begun. The needed parts are all known quantities, but determining exactly how much of each element are in the provided bars of metal is proving to be difficult. They are all from different sources and their concentrations are different as a result. There are also a disturbingly high number of impurities inside of these ingots, further refining will have to be done if they are to be usable."

"So some form of foundry is first on the list. I know that dealing with liquids is difficult in a low gravity environment, will you need outside assistance?"

"That won't be necessary. The Noah's inertial dampener has the ability to create a significant manipulative attractive force beyond its hull. I can also modify the parameters of the Atmospheric Containment Field to interact with heavier particles and shape it to what is necessary."

"Excuse my ignorance, but aren't high temperatures and a variety of chemicals required to separate certain metals? We could probably manage heat, but where are we going to get the chemicals?" Diana was no metallurgist, but she knew that there was more to these processes than just 'make it really hot'.

"ARC, you're up buddy." 

"The problem of heat generation is actually quite simple in this case, we can use the Cutter missile defense lasers. They are powerful enough to melt ceramics and other extremely strong ionic compounds. Chemical separation is where the process becomes far more difficult, and more dangerous. In short, you are correct, we lack the chemicals needed to perform the necessary reactions in the traditional way, so we won't be doing that. The solution that was given as a remedy to such a situation was to superheat and hyper compress the material into a plasmatic state and then isolate the desired atoms through the manipulation of the railgun's electromagnetic fields. You will be able to find a residence outside of the Noah correct?"

"We will need to reside on our respective campuses. Why do you ask?"

"The Noah will have to be skeletonized for parts and materials as well as subjected to unlivable amounts of heat. Additionally, I do not want you to be in the vicinity should something go wrong. Have we yet been granted permissions to construct a slipway in the vicinity of the Great Csillacra?" 

"Yes. We expect to have you towed out somewhere with the initial run of materials so that you can do your work unimpeded. The Arboreal Maiden said about five days." Diana recounted the schedule that they had no say in. "We, I, will be convening with the Holifanian Theocracy's representative tomorrow."

"They are the ones most likely to act as our patrons and protectors are they not? Have you made the proper preparations Diana?"

"I believe I have done all that I can. The Scholar has been very helpful in that regard." Diana didn't have many cards to play, so making the best impression she could to prove that association with her would be worth their while was vital. Learning about their cultural norms was one of the few ways she could do this. "Before we talk about that though, I think its time we address something about our policy going forwards. Donovan, do you remember what the Arboreal Maiden said the initial plan for integrating our species was?"

"Something about slightly crippling out industrial bases and killing some people in order to hinder us, right?"

"I would hardly classify a few billion as 'some people' Donovan." Diana was equal parts exasperated and annoyed at his nonchalant answer to her question, though only indignation escaped her lips. "That's effectively a genocide. I don't think we can just ignore that."

"Maybe not, but I don't think they would willingly kill that many people if they had a choice. I don't like it either, but I have to agree with their reasons for doing so." Donovan was still aggravatingly unexpressive about it. "Considering the weapons and technology that I've seen thus far, we likely would have conquered close to fifty planets in as many years through military force alone with numbers we had before. If we took a hit like that we would be too busy recovering to worry about expansion, it would give everybody else the chance to prepare themselves."

"That hardly seems like a good enough reason to commit an atrocity."

"To us. You said it yourself, we can't measure the actions of everyone else by our moral compass. From what I can tell, this was something that needed to be done to maintain that irritating policy of neutrality. No doubt they would be raked over the coals for not being neutral by introducing a race with apocalyptic military might in comparison."

"The fact that it violates our moral compass makes it all the more important that we don't ignore it."

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"Fine, say we don't ignore it, I can do that too! What the hell are we going to do about it? We need them for just about everything, they control an extreme amount of power in this universe, and making them hostile towards us would land us more enemies than friends." This was the first time Diana had heard Donovan raise his voice in anger.

As much as Diana hated it, Donovan was one hundred percent correct in his take on the situation. Even if there was some action they could take, doing so would only cause more issues than they solved.

"So you're saying we should just forgive such a plan?"

"I would prefer it if we forgot it. We already accepted their apologies." Don wanted to go to sleep and just forget about the whole ordeal. He didn't like thinking abut this sort of subject, he would much rather focus on combat and getting the important objectives squared away.

"While it goes against what I am inclined to do, I must say that I agree with Donovan on these points." ARC sounded almost nervous as it gave its stance. "It might be better if you forgave and forgot. There are simply no merits to holding that sort of grudge, the burden it will place on you will only hurt our chances of success in the future."

Diana desperately wanted to be angry at this. Her education emphasized the horror of past genocides and how they were to be avoided at all costs. To her, even the act of planning one was an act that shouldn't go without repercussions.

Relenting, she sighed deeply. "Fine. There's nothing to be gained from pressing the issue at this point in time. That doesn't mean I am going to just forget it though, once we build ourselves up to a reasonable point I might decide to march back over here and demand a proper explanation. 'Nobody here was ready for you' just doesn't cut it in my eyes."

"Seriously! How have some of these people been around for billions of years and they still haven't figured out gunpowder or how to make things explode?" Donovan voiced his approval of her stance on their technological development. From the small rant that followed, it would appear that this was something he had been holding in for a while...

- - - - -

Diana was all dressed up today, not that she ever wasn't paying attention to how she looked, but she was certainly wearing more formal attire than Donovan was used to seeing her in.

"A blazer? Is that what that's called?"

She was wearing a set of clothing hosting only marginal differences in comparison to a men's suit, the biggest being the fact that she was wearing a dress instead of pants. Don took note of it's glacial blue hue, something he thought might be an uncommon choice. Clearly it was supposed to match the color of her eyes when she bought it, but those were silver now.

"Yes, it's a blazer. Do I look okay?" Diana turned side to side in order to give Don a better look.

It was something of a tight fit, accentuating her curves more than any of her other clothes. The dress didn't cover the entirety of her legs, a fact which made her feel a tad vulnerable, but it wasn't difficult to move around in as a result. Her necklace, one of the few pieces of jewelry she took with her, was little more than a golden lace with a sapphire set into a silver pendant. There was very little about her outfit that would come off as flashy, but that was the point.

"You look stunning, though I'm sure you are tired of hearing that already." Don wasn't the best judge of beauty, and he lacked the knowledge of how best to describe his thoughts to her. His vocabulary could probably do with some work as well.

"Still, thank you for the compliment. Will you be training with Titanyana today?"

"That's the plan. I think she might want to get a better idea of where I am so she can figure out what exactly it is she needs to teach me." For the first time since they arrived on the Great Csillacra, they were splitting up.

Diana would not allow Donovan to join her in their first meeting with the Holifanians. This was motivated by more than just the belief that Don would screw something up during negotiations. As it stood, Donovan was a liability in talks with a nation as peaceful as them. He was practically a weapon at this point.

Weapons were better kept to the field where they could be refined, not brought to the negotiating table.

"I would like it if you did more than just spar with her, Don. Talk with her, build a friendship, try to see if she has any wants or needs that we can help with. She has a lot of power over a lot of people, even if it doesn't feel like it. Having good relations with someone like that is something that we need." To busy her hands, she tried to brush an unruly tuft of hair into submission. "Don't fuck it up~"

She left him with a kiss on the cheek, skittering off to where the Scholar waited for her in her high heels. These small displays of affection were becoming more frequent as of late, though whether or not they were genuine or forced escaped him. Just as much as he wanted their relationship to be natural, the knowledge that they would have to do *it* whether or not Diana wanted it weighed heavy on Donovan's mind. 

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