Max gestured toward the General's empty seat at the table, and sensed the man's embarrassment when he recalled that they all had nameplates at their seats.
That wasn't how Max knew his name, of course, but it was a plausible excuse for the slip.
"Oh, yes, of course. Please do join us at the table. There are many things that you probably don't know about this place yet because you wouldn't know to ask them, or the common Legionnaire wouldn't know to tell you. First and foremost, this place isn't natural. It is not one of the actual layers of space, it is like a bubble, formed in the boundaries between layers.
Our protector, the Demigod that you met earlier, created this place as a haven for us when she decided it was best that we stop getting involved in the affairs of other species. She hid us here so that we would survive whatever the Gods were going to do to the Mortal Species, and then she decided to keep us here, as it was a better place for us than anywhere else." General Airwalker explained.
"So, she took on the role of patron deity for your people, and kept you safe through the years?" Max asked.
"Something like that. You see, our Golden Legion once had a God of our own, but he was destroyed by the God of Time during the ancient times. Our patron is a fragment of our former Deity, so in a way, you could say that she was always protecting us.
But we've come to realize that our position here isn't just protected, it's completely isolated. As the war raged on, the boundaries between the layers were damaged, and now it is virtually impossible to leave. I mean, it was nearly impossible to leave before today.
Now, I'm not so sure. Whatever the carnage warriors did that forced a portal to pass through our home to get to yours caused immense damage to the layers boundaries.
I don't even want to speculate what sort of response your people must have initiated that would forcibly close a portal opened by a Greater Energy Being, much less wound one, and force it back out of your reality. But the fact remains, that whatever tactic they used completely closed off your layer from us, but it seems to have broken the blockade between us and them.
Nico barely contained her excitement before responding. "So, you're saying that your home will have to take the brunt of the assault that had been meant for us, and the only way home is for us to go through their territory to get far enough away that the damage to the boundaries fades?"
General Airwalker nodded. "As far as we can tell, that is correct. But that's a concern for much later. If the invasion fleet was meant for the Eternal Battlefield, it will be millions or billions of vessels strong. We don't have that sort of numbers, as you might have guessed.
The Eternal Battlefield is no place for us, not anymore. We can only hope to survive, and at this point, we're thankful to have even one ally. Just one ship from that war torn region was enough to save a city, and we have called you here to thank you."
When they put it that way, it did sound like the formerly glorious Golden Legion was in a bad way. But the Terminus Trading Company was the finest purveyor of violent death in the known universe, and Max was well aware that even a Cutter worth of his Mecha were enough to challenge most planetary forces.
"We are glad to help. We share a common enemy, and if they overrun you here, they will be in our home making a nuisance of themselves." Nico informed the General with a polite smile.
The phrasing made it sound like it was a "better you than me" sort of situation, but the Golden Legion officers missed that nuance to her wording, and simply took it as an "enemy of my enemy" sort of statement.
That was fine by Max, he didn't want Nico's enthusiasm for battle to cause a falling out with their allies, and he was about to give her a digital dressing down when she realized that she had misspoken.
Not that she was particularly concerned about the fate of the species, but they were allies, and losing your allies was not the sign of good leadership.
Max moved toward his seat and noticed that everyone in the room had a speech prepared, all of which heaped profuse thanks upon his people for saving their city.
That sounded very long and tedious. By the time they were done, he might actually let Nico tell them directly that they were actually cannon fodder and bait to test the new drone prototypes.
"How about we skip the formalities for the end of the conflict? I know everyone is grateful today, but you will also be grateful tomorrow, and the day after because the Cathedral Fleet, or as you called them earlier, the Carnage Warriors, are not going to stop until we've wiped them from the face of the planet." Max announced.
The reactions were almost all immediate relief, but a few of them were actually looking forward to being able to give a public speech. The preparation time needed to create it had taken their minds off what had happened to their city, and they weren't ready to go back to thinking about reality yet.
They would get over it.
General Airwalker took off his helmet and set it on the table, revealing smooth bronze skin and vaguely familiar features.
"Do all of your people share similar features, or do you have a relative who normally works as a security guard? You look very similar to a man I met earlier today, the first to step forward and see if we would peacefully negotiate with the Golden Legion." Max asked, diverting the prepared speeches.
"The first to step up, you say? You know, before today, mall security was not viewed in high regard, and I would be proud to claim that such bravery came from my bloodline, but unfortunately, it's a mere coincidence." The General laughed.
More of the dignitaries joined him in revealing their faces, all recognizably different, and Max did the same, freeing his head from the confines of the Mobile Suit's helmet.
There was still an energy barrier over him, and likely over the dignitaries as well, but now it felt much more informal, and they were all starting to relax and plan out how they wanted to ask the questions about humanity that were stuck in their minds.
They had plenty of questions about where the humans had gone, why their technology had changed so much, why they had chosen cute little crustaceans as their front-line combat units, and so much more.
Some of those questions they would never understand the answers to, and some of them simply didn't have a good answer, but Max was looking forward to at least trying to find out a bit more about the Golden Legion while they questioned him about humans.
